...

Ye Chen stared intently, spotting two or three towering monstrous figures, along with many smaller ones, rushing toward the area where the potent Bloodthirsty Rat-Monster carcass lay roasting. In this apocalypse, the roast was undoubtedly excellent bait for luring enemies.

“Let the slaughter begin,” Ye Chen murmured inwardly.

At that moment, the two or three large monsters—a Four-Tailed Silver Hound, a Fanged Blood Beast, and a Rending Wind Leopard—converged near the street entrance, all drawn by the tempting aroma. Upon seeing each other, their eyes instantly flashed with brutality, and they lunged into battle with savage roars.

“Roar, roar…”

Numerous low-level zombies, insect monsters, and blood rat-monsters surged out from sewer openings and alleys beneath the surrounding high-rises, all charging toward the roast of the Bloodthirsty Rat-Monster emitting that rich scent.

Some of these creatures were evolved types, others were mere zombies; they collided with one another, engaging in a gruesome melee.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze, settling into a chair inside the room, letting out a slow breath as he waited quietly.

Several tens of minutes passed before the sounds of roaring outside began to diminish. Ye Chen walked to the window for a look. The formerly open street was now slick with blood, strewn with severed limbs and broken remains. The surviving monsters were heavily scarred and riddled with wounds. Among the few powerful monsters, only the Rending Wind Leopard had endured; this creature possessed formidable physique, ranking around level 200, but its running speed was terrifyingly swift.

Ye Chen moved in a flash, darting out of the high-rise. He swiftly summoned his Silver Mechanical Warrior and initiated the massacre.

In just one minute, the surviving blood rat-monsters and insect beasts were all dispatched by the Silver Mechanical Warrior. It let out a low growl and then gave chase to the Rending Wind Leopard, activating its second-stage combat mode.

The Rending Wind Leopard was not unintelligent. Seeing the Silver Mechanical Warrior closing in, it roared at it, cast a cold glance, and then suddenly wheeled around and fled, sprinting into the distance until it vanished in the blink of an eye.

The Silver Mechanical Warrior was about to pursue, but Ye Chen called it back, whereupon it swiftly deactivated its combat mode and retreated.

Ye Chen instructed the Silver Mechanical Warrior to guard the perimeter while he proceeded to dissect the bodies of the zombie-monsters. He extracted the 'Jihua' cores within, obtaining three in total: levels 15, 18, and 25.

The level 25 Jihua was given to Little Black, increasing its physique by one level to level 21. The remaining two cores were allocated to another Black Burrowing Worm, elevating that creature to level 13.

As for the corpses, Ye Chen refined them all, gaining a one percent increase in his own vigor. The carcass of the level 100 Four-Tailed Silver Wolf and the level 150 Fanged Blood Beast were taken over by Little Black and the other Black Burrowing Worm to control their forms.

Time flew by during the monster hunt. As dusk approached again, Ye Chen surveyed his day’s haul and shook his head in mild disappointment. He sliced a piece from the roasted Bloodthirsty Rat-Monster corpse, wrapped it in newspaper scraps fluttering in the street, collected the Silver Mechanical Warrior and Little Black, and went alone into a room within a ruined high-rise. He dispatched the zombies inside, secured a quiet space, and shut the window.

He drew the curtains, retrieved his Blood-Red Battle Saber, and hunkered down in a corner of the room, rapidly swallowing the pieces of the Bloodthirsty Rat-Monster. After consuming about an arm's length of meat, a deep hunger still gnawed at him; the nutrients in the rat-monster's essence were simply insufficient for him to digest. Feeling helpless, he had no choice but to cut a piece the size of a quail egg from the level 300 Blood-Toothed Tiger carcass and swallow it whole.

The cold, blood-tinged mass slid down his throat. His stomach, burning with hunger, immediately seized the piece like a starved tiger, enveloping, breaking down, and devouring it.

Just as Ye Chen was about to sleep, his wrist communicator suddenly chimed. He paused, quickly activating the device, and heard a crisp voice whisper, “Brother, are you out hunting monsters?”

Ye Chen smiled faintly and initiated the video call. A white light streamed from the communicator, forming a holographic screen where he could see his sister, Ye Zhu. She had just washed her hair, which hung damply over her shoulders, and her face was lit with a smile, though a deep, unconcealable worry lingered in her eyes.

Ye Chen spoke softly, “No, I just finished dinner. How about you?”

Ye Zhu giggled. This world was already sorrowful enough, so she never let her sadness show to burden others; thus, she laughed with bright cheerfulness. “I ate too! And guess what? My cooking has improved lately. When you return, I’ll truly astound you.”

Ye Chen rubbed his nose. “Is that so?”

Ye Zhu pouted slightly. “What’s with that look? Don’t you believe me? Hmph, next time I’ll have Mo Feng cook for you.”

Ye Chen gave a wry smile. “That science fanatic only focuses on nutrition when he cooks, never flavor. He adds all sorts of chemical agents to the dishes; they're incredibly nutritious, which is why they taste so foul.”

Ye Zhu chuckled, her bright eyes darting around. “Brother, your communicator is truly amazing. The mobile telecommunications network hasn't even been established in the base cities yet, and there are no signal towers, yet this device works instantly. It’s incredible.”

Ye Chen nodded and smiled. “An artifact from the Ruins; its quality is guaranteed.”

As he spoke, night descended. Outside, countless zombies emerged from the high-rises, shambling in hordes down the streets, roaring at the moon overhead. The sound was chilling, like a dance of demons.

Ye Zhu asked curiously, “What is that noise?”

Ye Chen replied lightly, “Nothing, just a few zombies howling.”

Ye Zhu was silent for a moment, then said softly, “Then you should sleep early. Get good rest, and I’ll call again at this time tomorrow.”

“Oh.” A trace of reluctance flickered in Ye Chen’s eyes.

The connection ended. Ye Chen stared into the pitch-black room, lost in thought for a long time before finally drifting off to sleep.

Far away, a young woman began a tireless session of physical training, continuing until she was utterly exhausted, covered in sweat, and too tired to move a finger before stopping.

“One day, Little Zhu won't be a burden to you…”

...

The following days settled into a routine: Ye Chen hunted monsters by day, and around seven in the evening, after eating, his sister Ye Zhu would call him punctually. They chatted casually, saying whatever came to mind, speaking heart-to-heart, sharing genuine words.

In this world, finding someone with whom you could share true sincerity was exceedingly rare.

“You need to eat more these days.”

“Mm.”

“Alright, I won't keep you from resting. Bye, see you tomorrow.” Ye Zhu said with a smile, ending the call. She knew that if she didn't proactively hang up, Ye Chen would likely stay talking with her until dawn.

After closing the communicator, the smile vanished from Ye Zhu’s face as she walked toward a large piece of equipment.

...

This pattern continued for about two weeks. Every day after finishing his monster hunting, no matter how busy he was, Ye Chen would carve out time to talk with Ye Zhu—or more accurately, Ye Zhu made time to talk with him. Hearing that familiar voice daily washed away the bloodlust accumulated during intense battles, keeping his mind calm and preventing the malevolent energy from lodging in his heart.

(Do you know? As long as I have you, I will not fall...)

Ye Chen activated his communicator, and as usual, began chatting with Ye Zhu. At nine o’clock, Ye Zhu ended the call. Ye Chen collected his thoughts, preparing for sleep, when the communicator rang again immediately.

Ye Chen started, quickly looking at the device. Seeing that the incoming call ID was not his sister’s, a slight disappointment crossed his features. He tapped the screen, accepting the call request, and an avatar appeared on the holographic screen.

Ye Chen frowned upon seeing Xu Tianguo. “What is it?”

Xu Tianguo looked troubled, as if finding the words difficult to utter. After a moment of hesitation, he grit his teeth and spoke. “Earlier, I heeded your advice and registered a guild, recruiting heavily. But now, due to insufficient Jihua and a lack of guild resources, many members are preparing to jump ship, poached by the Dragon Ascent Guild and another, the Splendor Guild.”

Ye Chen nodded calmly. “It’s fine. Keep recruiting; I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

Xu Tianguo gave a bitter laugh. “I made a mistake here too; I shouldn't have recruited so many people, leading to resource shortages. Now, those with real potential have been targeted by headhunters from other guilds, and I have no way to stop them, alas...”

The apocalypse was brutally realistic: without resources or good benefits, subordinates naturally left.

Ye Chen was unconcerned. “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about the resources—keep recruiting, the more the better. However, don’t accept just anyone out of desperation. Recently, in the Atlantis Ruins, there is a Virtual Combat Tower where members can test their combat power. An ordinary person fighting alone equates to 5 combat points; a level 1 is worth 50 points. Our requirement for recruits is 10 combat points per person, relative to a level 1.”

Combat power accounted not only for physique but also for fighting skills, adaptability, and other comprehensive metrics. Sometimes, a level 90 fighter couldn't defeat a level 85 fighter; combat technique played a huge role.

“What?” Xu Tianguo was stunned, his face aghast. “Keep recruiting? And you require each person to exert 10 combat points by themselves? Sir, most people can only manage 5 combat points individually—that’s double the requirement!”

Ye Chen nodded. “That requirement is a bit lenient, but we can't be too strict in the early stages, or too much effort will be wasted on resources.”

Xu Tianguo nearly spat blood; he felt an urge to commit suicide. Lenient? Other guilds considered 5 combat points per person as passing.

“That’s settled then. I’ll be back soon,” Ye Chen said plainly before closing the communicator. He then cradled the Blood-Red Battle Saber and slipped into sleep. Having reached the Eighth Layer of the Mortal Realm cultivation mindset, no distracting thoughts could cling to him.

The next day, as the sunlight streamed down, Ye Chen’s expression was somewhat icy. He left the high-rise and turned toward the Huaxia Base City in Beijing, igniting beacons that would soon engulf the globe.