"Are we going to hide in here forever?" Ye Zhu glanced around the pristine room. Its utter cleanliness—not even a cockroach or mosquito dared to appear—spoke of absolute safety.

In any ordinary place, the moment the apocalypse broke out, the room would have been crawling with monstrous, mutated cockroaches, rats, mosquitoes, and other clawing pests.

Ye Chen shook his head, glancing out the window. Dark clouds blotted out the sky, thunder roared, and the wind howled mournfully across the land, as if heaven itself was mourning the tragic fate humanity was about to face.

"First thing tomorrow morning, I'm going out to hunt the zombies!" A sharp glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. Hiding with supplies was merely waiting for death. The virus within those zombies would only continue to breed stronger strains. By the time their food ran out, facing even more formidable zombies would be the same as walking into a trap.

"What?" Hearing Ye Chen planned to hunt zombies, Ye Zhu was startled. "How can that be? It’s too dangerous."

Ye Chen gently stroked her head, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. It’s getting late; you should get some sleep!" With that, he stood up, retrieved a thick cotton quilt from the bed, and carried it to the sofa. "I’ll sleep in the living room. I'll wake up if there’s any noise. You take the bedroom."

Ye Zhu stared at him, momentarily speechless. "With something this huge happening, you can still sleep?"

Ye Chen just smiled, thinking inwardly, "This is only the beginning..."

...

The next day, early morning, the sun streamed through the window, landing directly on Ye Chen’s face as he lay on the sofa. He slowly opened his eyes, and a warmth spread through him as he looked toward the bedroom. In the past, he had always hidden alone somewhere, waiting for dawn only to venture out and kill monsters, day after endless day, functioning like a machine, nearly numb to feeling.

But now, he wasn't fighting alone anymore...

He smiled, rose, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and pulled on rough cloth trousers. In the pocket of his camouflage pants, he tucked a can of gasoline, a safeguard against being swarmed by zombies. He also brought a box of matches; after all, using a lighter to ignite gasoline was hardly a wise move.

Having finished his preparations, Ye Zhu also awoke. Dressed in a white nightgown, she emerged sleepily from the room, stretching languidly. This girl possessed absolutely no awareness of the apocalypse. Her eyes lit up as she saw Ye Chen fully dressed. "Brother looks so handsome!"

Ye Chen nearly choked on the water he was rinsing with, shooting her a helpless glance. "Breakfast is in the kitchen. I’m heading out; don’t wander off."

Ye Zhu giggled and nodded.

Ye Chen offered a wry smile internally. He checked the anti-theft mirror mounted outside, confirming the hallway remained silent—not a single zombie in sight. Reassured, he unlatched the door and stepped out.

"Brother!" Ye Zhu called out softly.

Ye Chen paused, turning back to look at her with confusion.

Ye Zhu stood by the sofa, shaking her tiny fist slightly. "Be careful!"

A warmth spread through Ye Chen’s heart. He smiled and securely closed the door.

After Ye Chen left the room, Ye Zhu went to the kitchen and ate breakfast. Instead of resting, she went to the center of the living room and dropped to the floor, starting push-ups!

"Brother, I, Xiao Zhu, definitely won't hold you back!" Sweat beaded on Ye Zhu’s cheeks. After ten push-ups, her slender, fair arms were already trembling uncontrollably.

But she grit her teeth and persisted!

...

Stepping out the door, the "click" of the lock sealing behind him severed his connection to the safe environment. Ye Chen’s smile vanished, replaced by a grave expression. He kept the watermelon knife held across his chest; this position allowed for a swift upward slash should a zombie suddenly appear. Only a veteran of ten years in the apocalypse would hold a knife like this; most newcomers merely kept it near their hip, leaving no time to react when a zombie attacked.

The quiet hallway was covered in a dark crimson carpet, muffling his steps, so there was no worry about alerting any zombies. Ye Chen didn't venture far, heading instead to the adjacent room on his left.

The door was slightly ajar, allowing a faint, cool breeze to slip out from within.

Ye Chen suppressed his breathing, pressing close to the adjacent wall. Cautiously, he used his foot to nudge the door open further. The opening resembled a slow-drawing curtain, revealing the scene inside. Ye Chen barely had time to register his surroundings before spotting a flamboyantly dressed youth wearing a white plaid cap standing near the threshold.

As the door opened further, the youth slowly lifted his head. Beneath the cap was a pale face marred by several pustules, and around his mouth, traces of blood remained uncleaned.

Ye Chen's heart jolted, but he didn't retreat. Instead, he violently swung the watermelon knife, aiming a chop at the zombie youth. Retreating now would only attract more undead.

The zombie youth’s pale green eyes flashed with savage fury. It roared like a beast and lunged ferociously at Ye Chen, its outstretched hands, claws as sharp as knives, encircling him in a grasping embrace from either side.

Ye Chen was intimately familiar with this attack pattern. An ordinary person would have panicked immediately, as he only had one weapon; if the initial chop missed the head, he would be at the mercy of its claws.

Ye Chen’s expression remained calm. He suddenly kicked out, driving his foot directly into the zombie's groin with full force. The impact caused the zombie’s body to bend forward abruptly, halting its pounce mid-lunge. Almost simultaneously, Ye Chen’s knife shot upward like an arrow, thrusting from below towards the zombie's jawline!

Thwack!

Blood welled from the zombie’s mouth. It was likely that the sudden clenching of its jaw had crushed its own tongue.

Ye Chen sighed internally. A pity the watermelon knife lacked a sharp point; its tip was flat. Otherwise, this thrust would have pierced the skull. But he had no time to dwell on it. After the failed thrust, he kicked out again, forcing distance between them.

Ye Chen didn't stop there. He switched his grip on the watermelon knife, turning the blade outward, and charged forward aggressively. As he closed the distance, the zombie lunged back at him.

Ye Chen’s eyes turned icy. He kicked out, striking the zombie’s left chest. It felt like kicking a high-speed motorcycle; this zombie’s raw strength was easily three times his own!

The kick was fast and accurate. The moment it connected, he quickly retracted his foot, giving the zombie no chance to grab hold. The recoil forced Ye Chen backward, leaning precariously, but the force also momentarily stalled the zombie’s final pounce!

An opening!

A fierce light erupted in Ye Chen’s eyes. As he retracted his kicking leg, he swept it outwards. The movement, coupled with his backward lean, spun his body around. The watermelon knife, which he had been holding in a reverse grip with the edge facing out, swiftly slashed back, burying itself into the zombie’s neck.

Slash!

The blade sliced into the zombie’s neck, but due to the dullness of the blade, it only cut halfway through before stopping. Ye Chen resisted the urge to twist the knife, which would only risk breaking it. He quickly yanked the blade free, gripped it in his left hand, and suddenly squatted down to execute a leg sweep. He connected with the zombie's legs, feeling like he had struck two steel bars, sending a sharp ache up his instep. But with no time to spare, the zombie lost its lower body balance and pitched forward toward him.

A hair's breadth from disaster!

Ye Chen felt as if he tapped into every ounce of latent potential in his body. Because of his squatting posture, the watermelon knife held in his left hand was perfectly angled by the rotation to face the zombie’s neck. Ye Chen put every ounce of his strength into this final move. A loud crack echoed as the blade sliced through the same area it had initially struck, cleanly severing the zombie's head.

Thud!

The head fell to the ground like a ball, and black ichor poured from the severed neck, releasing a putrid stench.

Even without its head, the zombie body didn't immediately collapse. It thrashed wildly, clawing at the air. Ye Chen did not relax upon decapitation, seemingly having anticipated the post-mortem spasm. As he severed the head, he simultaneously used his foot to push the body backward, causing it to topple over. After a few final twitches, it lay lifelessly on the floor.

All this happened in a flash—less than thirty seconds from contact to kill! Ye Chen ignored the dead zombie and quickly scanned the room. The floor was covered in blood spatters, but thankfully, there were no other zombies present. Facing two simultaneously would have been genuinely difficult to handle.

Considering that each zombie possessed the strength of a strongman—three times that of a normal person—and had three lethal weapons in its hands, mouth, and teeth, dealing with them was exceptionally hard. An ordinary person encountering even one, without superior positioning or luck, faced certain death.

Hoo. Ye Chen let out a breath. He turned and closed the door. Looking down at the corpse, he calmly sliced open its chest with the watermelon knife. Its internal organs were still intact, showing no signs of decay, though their color had turned completely black. Even the white bones looked as if they had been coated in a layer of shiny, black paint.

Ye Chen found a makeshift bag, pulled it over his hand, and felt around inside the zombie’s cavity. Aside from the black organs, he found nothing, leaving him slightly disappointed about the lack of a "biochemical core."

"Crunch, crunch!"

Suddenly, a low chewing sound echoed from a corner of the room.

Ye Chen started, instinctively grabbing the watermelon knife. He spun around, focusing on the source of the sound, which seemed to originate from behind the bed in the far corner.

Ye Chen frowned, slowly approaching. Circling the bed, he saw a small girl in a white dress squatting in the corner, facing the wall. She was picking at something in her hands, her small frame trembling, evoking a profound sense of pity.

"Little sister," Ye Chen called out.

The girl seemed terrified of strangers, remaining huddled against the wall, facing away, meticulously manipulating whatever she held. Because her dress obscured her actions, Ye Chen couldn't see what she was doing, so he walked closer.

"Little sister," Ye Chen called again, tapping her shoulder lightly.

The girl slowly turned her head. Beneath a messy curtain of black hair were a pair of pale green eyes. A trace of blood still stained the corner of her mouth, and in her hand, she clutched half of an arm...

Roar!

The girl lunged at Ye Chen with a ferocious snarl. Ye Chen was shocked, and the knife he instinctively guarded across his chest swung out without hesitation, striking the little girl's left neck. It only cut halfway through before grating against something hard. Ye Chen cursed internally—it was a watermelon knife, not a butcher's blade.

He didn't rely solely on the weapon. As the knife became lodged in her neck, the girl continued her savage charge, seemingly oblivious to pain. Without another word, Ye Chen drove his foot into her chest, hearing the sickening crunch of breaking bone. The impact slammed the girl against the wall.

Ye Chen stepped forward, bringing the knife down hard. Crack! The girl’s skull shattered. Blood streamed from a fissure in her forehead like a worm. In her final moments, her eyes, fixed on Ye Chen, were still filled with bloodlust, greed, and venom!