The desolate street, the chilling wind whistling through the air, the shattered gas lamps, the gruesome scene of a traffic accident, the blood-soaked pedestrian walkway—it all composed a picture of the apocalypse.

Ye Chen felt a faint scent of blood mingled with the biting cold wind. His first sensation upon arrival was not what his eyes registered, but rather a sudden, crushing heaviness, as if his body had gained several hundred kilograms; simply standing felt arduous.

“The gravity in this world is 142,830 times that of Earth!” Kaba’s puppet body calculated the world’s structure within a few breaths.

“Blast it!” Kaba suddenly exclaimed.

“What is it?” Ye Chen turned, frowning at him.

Kaba managed a bitter smile. “It’s over. There are no fundamental elements in this world. Our divine power cannot connect with the free-floating energy in the air; we are completely unable to unleash any divine attacks. Only brute physical strength remains.”

Ye Chen froze, quickly sensing his own body. Indeed, the divine power within him could not extend beyond his skin, as if separated by a thin membrane.

“What’s going on?” Ye Chen moved his limbs, circulating the divine power within, attempting to manifest the Nine Palaces Secret Manual. Immediately, he felt the internal power sealed within his body, utterly unable to escape—as if this world forbade the very existence of divine energy.

“This drastically reduces our combat strength,” Kaba said grimly.

Ye Chen’s expression darkened further. Without the ability to wield divine power, countless techniques like the Heavenly Dao Sutra and the Nine Palaces Secret Manual were utterly useless.

“Now, only the strength of my 990,000-level main body remains.” Ye Chen felt a surge of bitterness. In this scenario, his strength was merely that of an ordinary peak Demigod, perhaps even slightly inferior to a low-tier Pseudo-God.

“The saber techniques I created back on Earth, though they involve physical amplification, were too rudimentary. Deploying them with my current strength won't be of much use. If I had known this, I should have purchased more physical combat techniques from the Ancient Martial Civilization. That way, even without divine power, I could still fight with my body!”

Ye Chen knitted his brows, glancing around the desolate street. He had a vague sense that something was amiss. Though he couldn't fathom why such a desolate landscape existed within this Demon God Palace, an instinctual sense of being watched—a persistent, dangerous feeling—crept up on him.

“Let’s go,” Ye Chen murmured.

Kaba surveyed their surroundings and chuckled. “There are cars here; let’s commandeer one. Walking is too tedious given this crushing gravity. Here, we can barely move faster than an ordinary person; it’s not worth the effort.”

Ye Chen looked at the ultra-futuristic vehicles parked down the street, frowning slightly. “Do you know how to drive these?”

Kaba laughed. “If I don’t know how to drive, I’ll just modify one. With my skills, assembling a car myself is child’s play, effortless.”

Ye Chen nodded. “You try.”

Kaba grinned widely and walked toward a sapphire-blue vehicle on the side of the road. Its front end had buckled slightly into the rear of the car in front of it. The side window was partially open, and the outer door was marred with bloody claw marks. Slumped in the driver’s seat was a woman, her face obscured by a cascade of black hair that swayed slightly in the breeze.

Kaba swaggered over. Lying by the car door was a young man, his clothes soaked crimson with blood, motionless on the ground, layered with dust and emitting a faint stench. The pores on his skin had ulcerated, oozing purplish-green pus, and were covered in strange small insects, like maggots, gnawing at the flesh.

Kaba glanced over, unfazed by the gruesome sight. He had witnessed far bloodier and more violent scenes. Without further ado, he raised his foot and kicked the corpse near its waist. The body, heavy as a mountain, reacted like a large sack of sand; even with Kaba’s strength, it only shifted slightly, failing to be kicked clear.

In the outside world, a kick like that could topple an entire metal tower, let alone a single corpse.

“So heavy. How many kilos is this guy?” Kaba muttered. He ceased wasting energy, stepped around the corpse, and approached the vehicle. His fingers brushed against the metal exterior; a cold, smooth sensation traveled up his arm.

“What metal is this? It’s S-grade strength!” Kaba exclaimed in astonishment. “Could this entire car be forged from S-grade metal?”

S-grade metal, whose strength rivaled that of a deity!

A car visible everywhere on the street was made of S-grade metal? Wouldn’t that make it a hyper-miniature divine spacecraft?

As Kaba examined the car’s metal, behind him, on the ground, the corpse that had been lying still, being devoured by insects, suddenly twitched a finger. Unnoticed by anyone, the eyes concealed beneath the black hair snapped open!

Ye Chen felt a spike of danger and fixed his gaze on Kaba. Suddenly, his pupils contracted deeply as he saw the long-dead corpse behind Kaba slowly moving its hand, using it to support its body, trembling as it prepared to rise from the ground.

Ye Chen flinched, almost instinctively shouting, “Get away quickly!”

Kaba paused. He rarely heard such alarm in Ye Chen’s voice. Before he could react, a sharp jolt struck his heart, a feeling of utter dread. He whipped his head around and immediately saw the corpse that had been prone on the ground slowly getting up, its expression ferocious and terrifying, a bloody, indistinct mess crawling with maggots, its veins and pores blurred, its eyes glistening sickly green—a truly horrifying sight.

Kaba felt as if his heart had stopped beating, but thankfully, being battle-hardened, he reacted swiftly. He leaped backward, bracing his palm against the car, pushing off to jump to the other side. His foot landed squarely on the body of a young woman.

The disheveled woman had been lying peacefully, but as Kaba looked down upon landing, her eyes suddenly flew open, blazing with bloodthirsty ferocity in their emerald irises. Her hand slowly moved, reaching toward Kaba’s ankle.

Kaba jumped back in alarm. He had sensed the density of these corpses; given their size and weight, their cellular structure must be incredibly compact, making them far stronger than ordinary individuals.

He moved instantly, pressing his palm against the car door and vaulting onto the roof. These few acrobatic maneuvers left him panting heavily—something utterly inconceivable on any other day.

As Kaba moved, the corpses scattered along the street seemed to stir as well, flexing their limbs, supporting themselves, and beginning to stand. Swaying slightly, their eyes glowed with malevolent light as they began to close in on Ye Chen and Kaba.

“Not good!” Ye Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and he barked, “We need to leave here fast, get inside a building!”

Kaba looked at the corpses gradually encircling the car, their eyes filled with bloodlust, a sliver of panic rising in his chest. He quickly leaped toward the area with the fewest zombies. Landing after jumping down from the two-meter-high car, the impact sent a jarring shock up his legs, leaving them numb and sensationless.

“Run!” Kaba gritted his teeth, closely following Ye Chen’s retreating figure, charging down a path less densely populated by the dead. This street was lined with numerous buildings, various shops whose signage Ye Chen, despite his experience, could not decipher. Some shop doors were closed, others ajar, and on the glass windows were splashes of blood and horrifying, smeared bloody handprints.

Ye Chen’s legs felt like they were filled with lead; running was excruciatingly difficult, vaguely reminiscent of his time back on Earth, when he was powerless against the zombie hordes.

At this critical moment, his vast experience came into play. He didn't just sprint wildly; instead, he tapped the ground with the balls of his feet. This gait produced minimal sound while allowing for a swift pace, though it put tremendous strain on his toes.

With this stealthy running cadence, he was less likely to alert the surrounding dead. He scanned his surroundings and immediately spotted a cluster of smaller shops—only two or three stories high—amidst taller structures. He pushed himself to his absolute limit, sprinting toward them. Just then, Kaba caught up from behind, seizing Ye Chen’s arm and pulling him forward even faster.

“Where to?” Kaba’s voice trembled slightly.

Ye Chen gasped, soaked in sweat, his breathing ragged. He said calmly, “The small shop ahead.”

Kaba countered, “There won’t be any corpses inside, right?”

Ye Chen replied darkly, “There will definitely be corpses inside.”

Kaba’s hand jerked, nearly dropping him. He hissed in a low voice, “Are you kidding me? Why go in if there are corpses!?”

Ye Chen remained composed. “There’s blood everywhere on the windows and floors of these shops. The number of corpses inside will be minimal, maybe only a few. Those other shops with less blood are where the most corpses are concentrated. Besides, running like this on the street will eventually exhaust us to death!”

Kaba’s mind whirred like machinery. He opened one eye toward the back of his head and saw the relentless horde of zombies pursuing them. Their speed wasn't fast, perhaps just slightly quicker than walking, but their relentless pursuit was stirring up other corpses in different parts of the street, causing them to slowly rise and join the chase.

Kaba gritted his teeth. “If we go inside, won’t we be trapped like a dog in a cul-de-sac?”

Ye Chen breathed out, “Don’t worry.”

By then, the two had reached the entrance of the chosen shop. Kaba knew there was no time for deliberation. He gritted his teeth and pulled open the shop door. As they stepped inside, they saw several limbs scattered on the floor: a severed head with stringy, blood-matted hair, its face seemingly gnawed bare; a single hand bearing several distinct bite marks; and several large smears of blood on the floor, resembling paint cans that had burst open, creating a horrifying, startling spectacle.

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