"We need to get all the food here back to the research institute by the end of today," Ye Chen casually sat down against a wall, stretching his limbs, and instructed Bai Long and the others.

"No way! This is an entire supermarket!" Bai Long exclaimed, shocked. "Moving all this stuff back in one day? Impossible!"

"Just do your best," Ye Chen waved his hand, gazing out past the supermarket entrance, squinting as he settled in for a rest.

Bai Long and Yue Heng exchanged a look of resignation. They found some wooden crates meant for beer and began gathering food from the shelves. Beside them, Mo Feng, who had remained silent, started helping as well.

"Brother..." Ye Zhu, after dissecting a few zombies, noticed no one was paying attention to his area and approached Ye Chen. He asked curiously, "Didn't you only have the strength of 30 men? Why just now..."

Ye Chen smiled faintly. "That’s because I fused with that mutated ant. It’s simply called Superhuman, or you can call it a Gene Warrior."

Ye Zhu suddenly understood, then grew excited. "Does that mean hunting zombies will be much easier from now on? And if we run into another one of those powerful monsters, we won't have to be afraid anymore."

Ye Chen chuckled.

In the early stages, becoming a Superhuman Warrior meant a survival rate of basically ninety percent! As long as they didn't venture into dangerous places like the zoo or the great forest, there would be no real threat.

"That’s great! I’ll get back to work now. You rest for a bit!" Ye Zhu stood up, blinked, turned, and walked away to continue extracting vital components from the zombies.

Ye Chen rested with his eyes closed, allowing his mind to enter a state of profound tranquility, utterly still like an ancient well. Every inch of skin, every cell in his body, relaxed completely.

In this state, his stamina recovered twice as fast as it would during normal rest, approaching the speed of true hibernation.

Silence settled over the supermarket once more, broken only by the clatter of goods being loaded or Bai Long's ceaseless monologue.

"I never thought I, the handsome, charming, and wildly popular Little Bai Long, would one day be working as a stock boy. Sigh, this world has truly fallen. That old fellow lying on the floor there, don't you agree? This is such a waste of talent. But speaking of him, you’re quite pitiful too. Why did you turn into a zombie of all things? Didn't you learn your lesson in life? Look at you. Ah, well, it's not really your fault for not learning when you were young; it just means your parents didn't educate you well. But even that’s not entirely their fault; it just means your grandfather’s generation didn't set a good example first. Although, you really can't blame your grandfather, it’s just that..."

If the zombie lying on the ground still possessed consciousness, it would likely weep without tears, never expecting to be criticized while lying still—and to have its entire lineage, back ten generations, berated by Bai Long.

"Can't you just shut up for a second? Will you die if you don't talk?" Yue Heng could no longer tolerate Bai Long's incessant droning, which sounded like a persistent mosquito.

"See? I haven't even started on you, and you already have such a temper. You must have been poorly disciplined as a child. But again, that’s not your fault; it just means your parents lacked culture. Actually, it’s not entirely your parents' fault either; you can only blame your grandfather for not teaching your parents properly..."

"Go teach your sister!"

"I don't have a sister, but plenty of beautiful women call me big brother."

"Hmph!"

"I know you don't believe me. That’s not your fault; it’s just that I didn't tell you. Then again, it’s not entirely my fault for not telling you; the moment you see someone as handsome as me, you should already know..."

Yue Heng simply covered his ears.

Creak!

"What was that sound?" Bai Long stopped, instantly alert.

Yue Heng scoffed, "Still putting on an act."

Bai Long shot him a look but didn't argue, turning instead toward a nearby storage room. Frowning deeply, he commanded sharply, "Who’s there? Come out!"

This sudden shout startled everyone. They paused their work, turning their heads in surprise.

Ye Chen opened his eyes, calmly observing the storage room, showing no intention of investigating it himself. When he activated his Superhuman mode earlier, he hadn't sensed any danger emanating from that room; there shouldn't be any powerful monsters inside.

Under everyone's gaze, the storage room door slowly cracked open a sliver after a moment. An eye peered out, tinged with apprehension, quickly glancing outside. Only after hearing Bai Long and the others speak did the person inside visibly relax, pushing the door open and stepping out.

It was a small, slender boy wearing the uniform of some school. His face was smeared with dirt, but his large, expressive eyes looked fearfully at Bai Long. Perhaps unused to being stared at by so many people, he was visibly flustered, unsure where to place his hands or feet, appearing extremely constrained.

"It’s a human," Bai Long noted with relief, his smile returning. He walked over confidently. "Hey there, kid, what’s your name? How did you end up here?"

The boy glanced at him fearfully and whispered timidly, "My name is Zhuge Fan. I... I came to the supermarket after school to buy a soda, and then, and then..." Fear flashed in his eyes as he recalled the night the disaster erupted—

That day, after school, he had come alone to the supermarket to grab a soda. After browsing for a while, he suddenly noticed a commotion outside, and that was when the horror began. The faces of many people around him, once familiar and kind, instantly contorted into savage and brutal masks, lunging onto others and beginning to tear and bite.

He froze then.

Stunned.

It wasn't until he heard heart-wrenching screams nearby that he snapped back to reality, scrambling into the storage room in a panic.

Fortunately, the storage room contained some emergency snacks. Relying on this meager supply, he had barely held on for a month, daring not to come out or move too much. He had once glimpsed through a crack a man hiding beneath a rice bin who, upon making the slightest sound, attracted several zombies that completely tore him apart...

Bai Long saw the terror in the boy's eyes and sighed inwardly, unable not to recall his own initial fear when facing zombies. If he hadn't met Ye Chen and the others later, perhaps...

He didn't dwell on it, patting the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry, Little Pig Brother, Handsome and dashing Bai Long Brother will look after you from now on."

The boy cautiously corrected him, "It’s Zhuge Fan, not Pig Brother."

"Right, Pig Brother, I get it."

Thump-thump!

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded from outside, immediately followed by a wet splat sound, and then a burst of delighted, hysterical laughter: "Hahahaha! Big Brother, all the zombies in this supermarket are dead! Hahahaha! So much food!"

...

It's getting late. First, congratulations to the book's first patron, BingBingZi. She has been a loyal supporter since the last book—truly amazing, incredibly dedicated! (∩_∩)