Eggs are packed with rich protein and are highly useful; in the late stages of the apocalypse, eggs would be completely extinct.

Besides these items, Ye Chen purchased a substantial amount of food rich in nutrients and possessing an extremely long shelf life. As for vegetables and fruit, he bought absolutely none. While vegetables are beneficial, their shelf life is short. As for meat, it would all be infected by the virus once the apocalypse struck, rotting away, making any purchase useless.

Since Ye Chen was purchasing so much food at once, the supermarket had to dispatch delivery staff to transport everything to the hotel for him. Ye Chen paused, then took out an additional room adjacent to his own, specifically designated for food storage.

When Ye Zhu saw the nearly room-full supply of provisions, her jaw dropped in astonishment, her small mouth forming a perfect 'O'. However, she managed to restrain her questions.

Having settled the food situation, Ye Chen checked the time—it was already three in the afternoon. He left the hotel and headed to a hardware store, purchasing five machetes. He had only needed two, but to guard against blades snapping during zombie encounters, he bought several extras as contingency.

Finally, Ye Chen checked the remaining cash on hand—about eight thousand yuan. He took out one thousand to buy several dozen cases of bottled water, anticipating that mutated rats from the sewers might sever the hotel’s water pipes. The remaining seven thousand were spent entirely on gasoline.

Gasoline, when ignited, explodes. It could be poured into empty soda cans or water bottles and used as small improvised bombs, a defense prepared for encounters with powerful mutated beasts.

Once all these preparations were complete, it was five in the evening. Ye Chen returned to the hotel with the machetes, casting a tired glance at Ye Zhu without a word. He closed the door, tossed the knives aside, and collapsed onto the bed.

“Let me sleep first. No matter who knocks later, don’t open the door. Remember! Wake me up at seven,” Ye Chen muttered tiredly before immediately falling into a deep slumber.

He was truly exhausted…

His current body had not yet undergone enhancement, and after running around all day, he was utterly spent. Thus, shortly after lying down, he drifted into dreamland.

Ye Zhu frowned slightly, sitting silently on the room’s sofa. Ye Chen’s series of strange actions left her completely bewildered.

…

“Tap, tap!”

Footsteps sounded from the hallway outside.

Ye Zhu glanced at her watch: 7:02. She hesitated, planning to wake Ye Chen, but seeing his deep sleep, she couldn't bring herself to disturb him. Hearing the footsteps outside, she knitted her brows and moved toward the door.

The footsteps outside seemed to register movement; they had been moving away but suddenly turned, approaching the door and knocking heavily: thump-thump-thump.

“The hotel staff here have such strength!” Ye Zhu thought, twisting the doorknob and pulling the door open.

Roar!!

The instant the door opened, a ferocious, beast-like snarl erupted. Immediately, Ye Zhu saw a man in a black suit lunging toward her. His face was covered in pustules oozing foul, yellowish fluid; his eyes were a pale green, and his teeth protruded like those of a ghoul. His fingernails were dark, three inches long, resembling sharp blades.

“Ah!” Ye Zhu had never seen such a terrifying sight; her eyes instantly panicked. Instinctively, she shielded her chest with both hands and screamed loudly, squeezing her eyes shut.

Slash!

A spray of crimson erupted, and a figure dropped to the floor with a thud.

“Don’t be afraid!” A gentle voice, like celestial music, sounded near her ear. Ye Zhu blinked open her astonished eyes and saw Ye Chen, awake at some unknown moment, holding a machete stained with black blood. The terrifying man who had been lunging at her lay motionless on the ground, his skull split clean in two.

“Brother, Brother… you—you killed someone!” Ye Zhu stammered in terror.

Ye Chen smiled faintly and patted her shoulder. “Go back inside. I’ll explain everything later.”

Ye Zhu looked at him, considered, and finally turned to re-enter the room.

After she was inside, Ye Chen dropped the smile from his face. He crouched down, dragged the zombie out of the room, and let it fall in the corridor. Fortunately, this long hallway only held this one infected body; otherwise, things would have been troublesome.

A sliver of coldness flashed in Ye Chen’s eyes. He brought the machete down several times on the zombie’s chest, cutting through the skin to expose the organs beneath. His expression remained placid while performing this gruesome act, as if he were long accustomed to it.

“No Core enhancement…” Ye Chen frowned, then shook his head. “Right, a Core can only be found in about one in every ten zombies; it’s not that easy to acquire.”

Saying this, he stood up and walked back into the room, closing the door behind him as if he had just performed a trivial action.

As for disposing of the zombie corpse?

There was absolutely no need.

Consider this: if zombies are so bloodthirsty, why don’t they bite each other? It is because once infected, their blood lacks a certain substance, and the color changes from bright red to inky black. Zombies only crave bright red blood.

Therefore, this corpse would not attract more zombies to Ye Chen’s location.

Of course, in later stages, zombies evolve a small measure of intellect, realizing that the presence of a ‘fellow’ corpse indicates other viable prey, which draws them in. But early-stage zombies possess very ‘simple’ minds.

…

Inside the room, Ye Zhu sat distractedly on the sofa, lost in thought, unaware of what she was pondering.

Ye Chen placed his machete on a nearby cabinet, walked over, and patted her shoulder, asking with a smile, “What are you thinking about?”

Ye Zhu gazed at him, then let out a soft sigh. “Brother, I trust whatever you do is for a reason. Just… please don’t do anything reckless!”

Ye Chen let out a wry laugh.

Ye Zhu looked at him strangely. “What are you laughing at?”

Ye Chen gently tapped the bridge of her nose. “I know you must be full of questions. Since it’s already happened, I might as well tell you.”

Ye Zhu looked utterly bewildered.

Ye Chen’s smile vanished. He paused, carefully arranging his thoughts before looking at her with gravity. “The one I just killed wasn’t human; it was a zombie!”

“A zombie?” Ye Zhu looked utterly stunned.

Ye Chen nodded. “You might not believe this, but the world outside has been in an apocalypse since 7 o’clock. A viral storm swept across the globe starting from North America. At the stroke of seven, seventy percent of the world’s population turned into zombies, and all the animals evolved into terrifying, bloodthirsty monsters!”

Ye Zhu’s eyes widened. Although she had never doubted Ye Chen’s words before, this revelation was overwhelmingly shocking.

A global apocalypse?

She remembered that since 2010, countless people had speculated about a world-ending event in 2012. The numerous global earthquakes and natural disasters at that time seemed to herald it, and the nuclear leak in Japan had caused minor mutations in many marine creatures.

But in reality, the 2012 apocalypse never materialized; speculation was shattered by fact. Now, Ye Chen claimed the outside was teeming with monsters—it was almost unbelievable.

Ye Chen seemed to sense her hesitation. To force someone to accept such a brutal reality immediately was indeed difficult. He simply warned her, “Regardless of anything else, from now on, do not open the door for anyone!”

Ye Zhu looked somewhat distant, only murmuring an acknowledgement.

Ye Chen moved to a nearby sofa, pondering the next course of action while allowing Ye Zhu a moment to compose herself.

“Brother…” Ye Zhu suddenly called out.

Ye Chen turned, surprised. The girl seemed to have calmed down. She looked directly at him and stated clearly, “I believe you!”

Ye Chen’s heart jolted; he felt as if all the blood in his body began to boil. After a moment of stillness, he chuckled strangely. “You believe what I said?”

Ye Zhu nodded earnestly. “Brother has never lied to me, not since we were children.”

Ye Chen offered a wry smile.

Ye Zhu playfully winked, showing no hint of fear or worry about the apocalypse. The girl then lifted her hand like a mischievous child. “Brother, I have a question!”

Ye Chen rubbed his nose. “Ask away.”

Ye Zhu blinked slyly. “How did you know about the apocalypse, Brother?”

Ye Chen was momentarily speechless, then cleared his throat huskily. “Well, naturally, Heaven sent me a dream—Heaven protects me. You know, your big brother is a bringer of fortune. Hey, don’t yawn—at least listen to me finish? Huh, you fell asleep already?”

Ye Zhu opened her eyes only after he finished speaking and pouted. “Fine, another question then.”

Ye Chen rubbed his nose. “Ask.”

Ye Zhu pondered for a moment. “Why did you choose to move to this place? If you were looking for a strong base, many other locations would be better than this one. For instance, the countryside—fewer people mean fewer zombies.”

This time, Ye Chen didn’t deflect. He answered seriously. “There are two reasons for choosing this location. First, the hotel is convenient and clean! You must realize that after the apocalypse, it’s not just humans who turn into zombies; insects and other small animals will also evolve into monsters, perhaps even more terrifying than the zombies! And the place with the fewest insects is a five-star hotel.”

Ye Zhu suddenly understood. “So, does that mean the countryside is even more dangerous than the city?”

Ye Chen nodded. Most people, seeing so many zombies, would assume the rural areas were safer. In reality, if humans could mutate into zombies, how could other animals remain unchanged? They would naturally transform into far more dreadful monsters! And the countryside, naturally, harbors exponentially more animals than other areas…

“What’s the second reason?”

“The second reason is that the doors and walls of this hotel are sufficiently sturdy, offering absolute protection against common zombies,” Ye Chen chuckled lightly. Anyone who had stayed in a hotel knew that although the doors appeared wooden, they contained a layer of steel plating, incredibly thick. It would take even ten zombies some time to blast their way through.

Ye Zhu looked at him oddly. “How come we didn’t turn into zombies?”

Ye Chen frowned slightly, then explained, “Have you forgotten? We’ve been self-reliant since childhood and are very healthy. Plus, we got our anti-disease vaccines last year, so naturally, we wouldn’t turn.”

“Is that really so?” Ye Zhu cast him a suspicious glance.

Ye Chen inwardly broke out in a sweat. The reality was different. He had lived through one apocalypse before and hadn’t turned then, so naturally, he wouldn’t now, even reborn. As for Little Zhu, she had died at the hands of zombies after the outbreak began, which implied she couldn't be infected by the virus either.

…

Although I reviewed it after finishing the draft, there might still be typos. If you spot any, please point them out; I’d be very grateful. During the launch of a new book, recommendation votes and saves are very important; please contribute what you can—it all relies on you.