C11 Slaughter of Zombies

"Meier, do you think I'm useless? I just can't handle this anymore," Fei Liang said with a ghastly pallor, staggering toward Meier with a wry smile on his face.

If anyone were to witness Fei Liang in his current state, they'd likely scream, "A ghost!" and pass out. His face was deathly white, and his body was smeared with zombie gore and flesh, making him look like he had just clawed his way out of a mass grave—a truly eerie sight.

"Not at all, Mr. Fei. You're actually handling it quite well," Meier reassured him. "Many people would be completely paralyzed with fear or even faint in your shoes."

"Hehe," Fei Liang managed a smile, though it was barely discernible against his ashen complexion.

"Mr. Fei, don't be too hard on yourself. They've been gone a long time. You're not killing people, but puppets controlled by the K virus. I'm sure if they had any awareness beyond the grave, they wouldn't want to exist as mindless puppets," Meier said, offering comfort as if she could read Fei Liang's troubled thoughts.

"Thanks, Meier," Fei Liang responded, feeling a bit more at ease as he attempted another smile, which seemed a tad more genuine than the last.

"Meier, why do I have a knife in my hand?" Fei Liang inquired abruptly.

"That's part of the system's design," Meier explained.

"A Level 1 combat blade? It's quite a good blade. Why is it only Level 1?" Fei Liang asked, surprised.

"The material of the combat blade is decent, and its main advantage is that it can be upgraded."

"The grade can be improved?" Fei Liang's eyes sparkled with interest. "How high can it go?"

"That depends on you, Mr. Fei. The previous owner never reached its full potential," Meier answered.

"That powerful, with so much potential for enhancement?" Fei Liang was incredulous. "What's the capability of this Level 1 combat blade?"

"The combat blade starts at Level 0, with a minimum of three hundred crystal energy. Even at that level, its sharpness can penetrate the body defense of a martial artist at the Profound Level Late Period. A Level 4 blade can breach the defense of an Earth Level Early Period martial artist, and with an additional hundred crystals, it can break through the defense of an Earth Level Late Period martial artist," Meier detailed with patience.

"Does strengthening with a hundred crystals upgrade the combat blade to level 2?" Fei Liang inquired.

"No, it remains level 1. To reach level 2, Mr. Fei, you'll need an additional six hundred crystals. That would allow it to penetrate the defenses of a martial artist at the Heaven Level Late Period. Of course, this assumes that the user isn't exerting any superhuman strength and that the target is relying solely on their physical defense without using Genuine Qi," Meier explained, her eyes twinkling.

"Six hundred crystals," Fei Liang muttered, his lips twisting in frustration. "I've barely got over a hundred now. Still need to upgrade, but I'm out of crystals—not money—to enhance the blade's grade."

"Actually, Mr. Fei, you have eighty-eight crystals left in your Boundary Energy. That's not enough for the upgrade," Meier said with a sly grin.

"Darn it," Fei Liang cursed, suddenly recalling the twenty crystals he'd spent on the protective shield. He frowned and asked, "Meier, why didn't you mention this sooner?"

"Don't sweat it, Mr. Fei," Meier said with a playful smile. "The Spirit Bead automatically converted the Zombie you killed into Boundary Energy, adding up to forty-three crystals. So now, you have a total of one hundred and thirty-one crystals. I just didn't get your permission first, so please don't be upset."

"Haha, upset with you? Never. But Zombies can be turned into Boundary Energy? Is that what you meant about earning Boundary Energy from the world?" Fei Liang chuckled.

"It's just one method," Meier replied. "The yield is even greater with living creatures."

"Got it," Fei Liang nodded. "Let's go ahead with the strengthening then!"

"Right away, Mr. Fei." Meier's words had barely left her lips when a flash of white light signaled the completion of the enhancement.

"Is that all? Wasn't much to it," Fei Liang observed, examining the battle saber. It appeared slightly shorter, its sheen dimmed ever so slightly, but otherwise unchanged.

Shaking his head, he put it out of his mind. Unbeknownst to him, he had covered several kilometers, and the sounds of Zombies were growing louder by the moment.

"Zombies, your time is up." Fei Liang's lips curled into a sly grin as he hastened his steps, his sights set on the Boundary Energy.

A few dozen strides later, after rounding a corner, Fei Liang's excitement instantly turned to shock.

Before him lay a small plaza, and if being encircled by a handful of zombies was considered unlucky, Fei Liang's current predicament was downright dire. The plaza, no more than 20,000 square meters, was swarming with thousands of zombies, teeming with formidable K2-level adversaries. The howling that had reached Fei Liang's ears earlier emanated from this very spot.

"Howl... Howl... Howl..." Amidst the throng of zombies, Fei Liang was swiftly spotted, and a horde of them surged in his direction.

"This is bad!" Fei Liang's heart sank as he turned on his heels and bolted. It was no laughing matter; with thousands of zombies in pursuit, even someone of Yellow Level Late Period prowess would meet a grim fate if cornered.

"Howl! Howl!" The relentless zombies were hot on his trail, some nearly matching Fei Liang's pace.

"Meier, what's the deal here? With so many zombies around, why no heads-up? And since when are zombies this fast? Some are almost catching up to me!" Fei Liang lamented to Meier as he fled.

"Mr. Fei, Meier doesn't just hand out warnings; you need to learn through experience," Meier chided. "You're the one who wanted to charge in recklessly. Besides, who said zombies have to be slow? The one gaining on you is a speed-type K2—not all of them are that fast." Despite her words, Meier couldn't hide a hint of schadenfreude.

"Speed-type? There are different kinds of zombies?" Fei Liang inquired, intrigued.

"Indeed, only those above the K2 level," Meier confirmed with a nod. "Zombies beyond K2 are categorized into ordinary, speed, strength, attack, intelligence, and other types. Ordinary zombies evolve in a balanced manner, roughly on par with the early stages of Yellow Level, like the ones you've previously dispatched. Speed-type zombies are quick but lack in attack power, similar to the one chasing you now, whose offense and defense aren't much better than a K1's. And you'll surely encounter other varieties as you go."

"Wah!" The ruckus in the plaza had drawn the attention of nearby zombies. As Fei Liang was momentarily distracted, a zombie lunged at him from a shadowy corner.

"Damn zombie, back off!" Fei Liang roared, cleaving the zombie at the waist and sidestepping to avoid the splatter of tainted blood.

"Mr. Fei, you've got it wrong. These are zombies, not zombies!" Meier corrected him.

"I know, but aren't zombies and zombies essentially the same? It's merely a matter of terminology. Why are you so hung up on it, Meier?" Fei Liang retorted, dispatching another zombie with his blade.

"No, it's not the same," Meier insisted, her expression grave. "Zombies are categorized into five types: the dead, the undead, zombies, zombies, and the Rueful Corpse. The dead are the most common and need no explanation. The undead are corpses without self-awareness or the propensity to attack, often referred to as puppets. Zombies are infected by some bacteria or virus, usually lacking self-awareness but possessing a fierce instinct to attack. Their speed varies with the pathogen, and there's a chance for recovery. Zombies are filled with resentment, their bodies rigid. A Rueful Corpse, however, is dead without stiffness."

"Meier, you're saying zombies might recover? So, zombies could potentially revert back to being human?" Fei Liang asked, astonished, after felling another zombie.

"Yes, if the pathogen isn't too virulent or the infection isn't too severe, there's a possibility of recovery," Meier confirmed with a nod.

"Got it. But now we've got bigger problems—those damned K2s are on our tail." After eliminating three more zombies, Fei Liang had lost precious time, and the speed-type zombie had caught up. He swung his sword several times but missed each strike.

"Speed-type zombies sure are nimble," Fei Liang grumbled, as he strategically retreated toward the alley he had come from. It was a dead end, but it could only accommodate four or five zombies abreast, giving Fei Liang an edge.

"Another K2?" Fei Liang noted with concern as he backed into the alley, only to find another K2 blocking his path. This zombie was nearing the middle stage of the Yellow Level.

"Hah!" Fei Liang bellowed, engaging in a fierce battle with the Zombie. They traded blows for several rounds, yet he couldn't defeat it. It wasn't until a speed-type K2 caught him off guard that he seized the chance to behead it.

"It seems I've underestimated my own strength; I'm not merely approaching the middle stage of the Yellow Level—I'm already there," Fei Liang remarked with a hint of resignation, eyeing the horde of no fewer than fifty zombies encircling him, a number that was steadily climbing.

With a thunderous roar, Fei Liang charged, attempting to break through to the alley. The power unleashed by a Yellow Level Late Period master was formidable. Zombies that ventured too close were cut down effortlessly, as easily as slicing through reeds. Fei Liang struck them down with deadly precision, and even the standard K2s couldn't withstand more than a few exchanges. Despite his prowess, the layers of dark-brown blood staining Fei Liang's body thickened with each encounter.

The journey of just over a thousand meters felt like an arduous trek of tens of kilometers to Fei Liang. By the time he reached the mouth of the alley, he had sustained several injuries. Yet, he left a trail of over fifty zombie corpses in his wake, with the speed-type K2 notably absent from the count.

"Die!" Fei Liang shouted, retreating into the alley and launching a surprise counterattack. The speed-type K2's advantage evaporated in the confined space, and Fei Liang dispatched it with a single, decisive blow.

"Meier, tend to my wounds!" Fei Liang exclaimed, a wave of relief washing over him. Seven wounds marred his body, four inflicted by the speed-type K2.

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

A soothing warmth enveloped him, and after expending five crystals, Fei Liang's injuries miraculously healed. With the Realm Energy harvested from the fifty-odd zombies, he still had a reserve of one hundred and thirteen crystals.

Before Fei Liang could catch his breath, the zombies swarmed him like a relentless tide. Despite the alleyway bottleneck, the onslaught was exhausting. He estimated that the perimeter was now teeming with hundreds of zombies.

Time slipped away, and the battle remained at a stalemate. Fei Liang grew increasingly exhausted, his body marred by nearly ten wounds. One was so grievous that bone was visible, a souvenir from a ferocious K3. Though the bleeding had ceased, the pain lingered, occasionally flaring up.

Reluctantly, he expended three more crystals just to tend to this one injury.

"Huff, huff!" Fei Liang gasped for air, locked in combat with a formidable K3 at the Yellow Level Late Period. Far from gaining the upper hand, Fei Liang found himself at a disadvantage. The K3's strength was nearly a match for his own, and with Zombies intermittently disrupting the fight and his energy waning, the situation was dire.

"Boom!" A wall at the alley's entrance exploded inward, revealing a towering two-meter Zombie before Fei Liang.

"Damn! A Strength-type K3!" Fei Liang exclaimed in alarm.

"Mr. Fei, two K3s are converging on our location, one at the Profound Level Early Period. I recommend an immediate withdrawal to the Spirit Bead Space!" Meier's urgent voice echoed in Fei Liang's mind.

"Got it! Retreat!" Having dispatched another troublesome K3, he repelled the advancing K3 and sidestepped the Strength-type K3. Gazing at the gaping hole in the wall, Fei Liang's forehead beaded with sweat as he made a decisive call.

His purpose here was to hone his combat skills, but facing such overpowering foes, was he just seeking punishment? Thankfully, the lumbering Strength-type K3 moved slowly, or he might have ended up like the battered wall beside him.

"Okay, we're returning in five seconds. Countdown starting now: five, four, three, two, one..."

In a flash, Fei Liang, still engaged with the K3, vanished from the spot.