Ye Chen coldly surveyed the corpses on the ground, walking over while gripping his watermelon knife. He first dissected the two charred bodies from the explosion, though it seemed his luck was poor; neither zombie contained any Jihua.

Ye Chen was not disappointed. Jihua was rare; finding it in one out of ten zombies was already considered good fortune. He immediately moved to the still-writhing zombie, easily severing its neck and slicing open its chest cavity.

Black blood pooled everywhere. Ye Chen's eyes suddenly brightened. On the edge of this zombie’s heart was a piece of Jihua about the size of two fingers—twice the amount found in that previous child’s body. He pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket, slipped it over his hand, and picked up the Jihua. He didn't immediately consume it, however, as it was smeared with zombie blood and potent virus.

Tossing the Jihua into the bag, Ye Chen approached the headless female zombie. He tore away her clothes and cut open her chest skin, pointedly ignoring the pronounced mounds on her chest. A moment later, he stood up; this female zombie also yielded no Jihua.

Ye Chen didn't linger, turning and rapidly retreating. The sound of the earlier explosion was certainly enough to alert many of the roaming zombies downstairs.

Shortly after he left, several zombies shambled up the stairs, their forms hideous. Seeing their dead comrades below, they sniffed the air for the scent of blood and ascended further.

Ye Chen slipped back into the room where he had killed the zombies earlier, shut the door, and locked it securely. He then took out the Jihua, cleaned it thoroughly, and swallowed it.

Absorbing the energy from this piece of Jihua, Ye Chen’s physique became significantly stronger, and his antiviral resistance increased noticeably. His strength grew by several dozen pounds, and his blade speed quickened!

Suddenly—

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The door shuddered violently under the assault.

Ye Chen frowned, tightening his grip on the watermelon knife. He crept to the door and peered through the security peephole. Three figures stood outside, hammering frantically on the wood, their faces contorted in monstrous snarls—three zombies.

Ye Chen remained calm, retreating a few steps to reassess the situation. After a brief moment of thought, he devised a plan. He walked into the main area and pushed the several sofas that had been near the television over to the back of the room, arranging them in a "T" shape. He then went to the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver and two frying pans, and finally fetched the mop from the entrance to the lavatory.

With all preparations complete, Ye Chen went to the back door and unlocked the latch. Under the relentless shoving of the three zombies, the door burst open—but only slightly, hitting the stack of sofas. The sofas braced against the wall...

Leaving only a narrow gap.

One zombie lunged, trying to squeeze through, managing only to thrust one clawed hand into the opening. It couldn't fit its body, but it couldn't reach Ye Chen, who stood barely a hand-span away from its fingertips. This drove the creature into a frenzy; it roared incessantly, struggling with bloodthirsty, vicious eyes.

Ye Chen’s expression was placid. Seeing the hand reach in, he swung the watermelon knife down with force. In an instant, the zombie’s claw was severed—a single blow! Before, given the hardness of a zombie’s limb, Ye Chen could only manage to cut halfway through. Now, it was cleanly lopped off!

Having lost its claws, the zombie became even more maniacal and savage, pressing harder. The sofas bracing the door groaned, "kaka," sounding close to collapse.

Ye Chen wasted no time. He raised the mop; its length allowed him to strike the zombie well out of reach of its remaining limbs. One end of the mop jammed directly into the zombie’s bridge of the nose. The immense force elicited a muffled cry, and the creature tilted backward, falling. The two zombies behind it seized the opportunity and scrambled to squeeze through the gap. Finally, one managed to push past its companion and force itself into the opening.

A flicker of coldness entered Ye Chen’s eyes. Following the same pattern, he first sliced off this second zombie’s claws, then used the mop to strike its eyes, mouth, and other vulnerable spots.

Crack!

Suddenly, the sofas bracing the door snapped violently. The internal wood and aluminum alloy supports buckled like bent shrimp shells. At that moment, the three zombies outside finally burst in, surging toward Ye Chen.

Ye Chen was startled. He hadn't expected the sofas to fail before he could dispatch the three zombies; the sheer power of these creatures was terrifying.

As one zombie lunged, Ye Chen smashed his left-hand frying pan squarely into its head. With a dull thud, the pan pierced through and slipped over the zombie’s neck like a scarf. Ye Chen yanked it casually, throwing the zombie off balance and sending it crashing to the floor.

The second zombie charged. Ye Chen sidestepped and swept the mop horizontally, catching the creature around the waist. Crack! The mop handle snapped in two.

Ye Chen had no time to breathe. Seeing the third zombie close behind, he dove low to the ground, braced his feet backward, and kicked the zombie squarely in the chest, sending it flying back several feet. Ye Chen scrambled up immediately, rushed to the zombie whose head was ensnared by the frying pan, and kicked it hard in the bridge of the nose and eyes.

The zombie shrieked and was flung several feet away. Before Ye Chen could follow up, the zombie struck in the waist recovered and lunged again.

Ye Chen retreated a step. As the zombie jumped and landed, just as its prior momentum faded and new momentum began, he struck swiftly with his knife, a flash of lightning slicing through the creature's neck. Its head flew off, and its body convulsed a few times before collapsing.

Kill!

Ye Chen’s eyes were icy as he charged the zombie still wearing the frying pan.

He brought his foot down!

He stomped hard!

Squirt!

The zombie’s head was crushed instantly under Ye Chen’s boot! White brain matter sprayed onto the floor like thick juice.

Almost simultaneously, the last remaining zombie launched itself from behind Ye Chen. In that split second, he had no time to turn!

In this moment between life and death, Ye Chen clearly heard the roar behind him but did not turn. Instead, he sprinted forward. The zombie pursued closely. In a flash, Ye Chen slammed into the wall—he was trapped!

The zombie pounced.

The next second, Ye Chen’s running speed didn't slow; it increased. He used the wall as leverage, performing two quick steps as if scaling a cliff, then pushed off forcefully, executing a perfect backward somersault. His watermelon knife swung down with all his might, cleaving into the charging zombie’s head!

The creature shuddered, its skull splitting open, and it fell dead to the ground.

All of this transpired in an extremely short span—less than a minute in total.

Ye Chen had no time to rest. He quickly walked back to secure the door, then collapsed onto the damaged sofa, panting heavily. After a few moments, he regained some strength, stood, and approached the three fallen zombies. If not for the obvious destruction of their skulls, Ye Chen might have had the illusion that they would suddenly leap up if he simply crouched down.

Ye Chen sliced open the chests of these zombies and dissected them one by one, but finding no Jihua, he felt a touch of disappointment. After resting briefly, he exited the room and headed downstairs.

Passing the hallway, the corpses of the four zombies he had dissected earlier still lay there, their black blood staining the floor, an unsettling sight.

Ye Chen stepped carefully on the clean spots, then pushed the bodies aside to clear a path, lest they impede his escape should he be chased back up later.

Having done this, Ye Chen descended to the next floor. This level was wider, with more rooms. The hotel featured presidential suites, standard rooms, and single rooms. There were thirty-four standard rooms on this floor alone!

Ye Chen walked down the corridor. A profound silence permeated the area. Some doors were slightly ajar; others bore faint bloodstains. In the center of the hallway lay a severed head amidst a pool of blood—evidence, perhaps, of some unfortunate soul being dismembered by zombies.

Ye Chen gripped his watermelon knife tighter, consciously trying to remain calm. If his palms sweated, it could cause him to lose grip, making the knife slip. In his previous life, such weak zombies wouldn't even warrant a glance; he could crush a whole horde with a single slap. But now, this body was too frail; facing two or three zombies presented a mortal danger!

After all, his current strength was only equivalent to half that of a zombie.

The long hallway had ten doors on either side. Three of these were slightly ajar, suggesting a sudden rush of zombies might erupt with the slightest disturbance!

Ye Chen proceeded with extreme caution, soon reaching the first slightly opened door. A cool draft seeped out, chilling him to the scalp and causing his skin to prickle.

Ye Chen, holding the watermelon knife ready, slowly pushed the door open just a sliver. Looking in from the side, the room's interior appeared clean and neatly arranged, with no signs of chaos—

Ye Chen sighed in subtle relief. He moved to the side to look fully inside, taking in the room’s layout. What he saw instantly jolted him. The room was completely empty, but on the living room floor, a small, black monster lay prone. It was fist-sized, entirely inky black, with a pair of antennae sprouting from its forehead, and its entire body encased in a black, glossy carapace.

Ye Chen recognized the creature instantly, and a wave of both surprise and elation washed over him.

...

It's 9 o’clock. Three more hours until the recommendation votes reach 200! Keep pushing, brothers!! Lately, I keep accidentally typing the protagonist’s name from my old book. Ugh, it just flows too easily. I’m struggling with this mistake...