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墨書 Inktalez
Countless sharp feathers pierced through its body. Even a Zombie with such strong vitality finally lost the strength to struggle, hanging its head in resignation as it awaited the arrival of death.
The wait for the Black Hawk did not last long. After confirming that the creature had lost all ability to resist, Chu Donglin, dragging his injured body, approached it and struck its head with a Steel Pipe.
He struck repeatedly, more than ten times, until the metal Steel Pipe was thoroughly bent. Only then did Chu Donglin shatter the Black Hawk's skull.
From the pile of flesh, he retrieved the Black Hawk's Energy Crystal, and Chu Donglin was somewhat surprised.
Unlike the red crystals of a First-Stage Zombie, the Energy Crystal of a Second-Stage Zombie was mixed with some strange blue patterns. The blood-red crystal, interspersed with those blue markings, evoked a bizarre sense of horror.
It was akin to how humans feel when they see images of cancer cells or viruses; even without fully understanding their dangers, an instinctive aversion arises from deep within.
If it weren't for the enticing fragrance in the air beckoning to Chu Donglin, he might have thought he had unearthed something truly grotesque.
Standing beside the stone where the Zombie Hawk lay, Chu Donglin contemplated for a moment before wiping the blood off the Energy Crystal and swallowing it.
A familiar warmth surged from his abdomen, spreading throughout his limbs and rapidly transforming his body. Chu Donglin could feel that the energy from the Second-Stage Zombie was different from that of a First-Stage Zombie.
Beyond mere quantity, the energy provided by the Second-Stage Zombie’s Energy Crystal felt purer.
The difference was similar to that between mineral water and muddy sewage—though the disparity in purity wasn't as vast.
Now, as a Second-Stage Zombie, Chu Donglin felt almost unrecognizable compared to when he first entered this stage.
In addition to changes in strength and other physical attributes, Chu Donglin's field of vision had also expanded significantly. Now, when he gazed into the distance, he could clearly see everything within a radius of about one thousand meters.
Although there was still a significant gap compared to the vision distance he had as a human, it was a qualitative improvement compared to his first stage.
Based on the speed of this enhancement, Chu Donglin estimated that after his third evolution, his vision distance would return to normal human levels.
In addition to the range of vision, every attribute of Chu Donglin had reached a truly inhuman level.
Falling from the seventh floor without a scratch—such an ability would likely send shockwaves around the world if he were to showcase it during peacetime.
Moreover, the Second Stage of Chu Donglin had finally restored his ability to speak. Unlike during the first stage when talking was exhausting, his vocal cords had now been completely repaired, allowing him to speak for extended periods without discomfort.
This made Chu Donglin quite happy. Previously, when telling stories to the girl, he had to pause frequently to catch his breath and let his vocal cords rest.
Now that his vocal cords were restored, he could finally tell stories to Girl steadily and comfortably.
Hmm, Shishi would surely be very happy about that too, right?
After absorbing all the energy, feeling joyful, Chu Donglin walked into a nearby clothing store and changed out of his tattered clothes that had been poked by feathers.
He also washed off the bloodstains with the store's tap water. After putting on a brand new outfit, wrapping a scarf around his neck and putting on gloves, he hummed a tune as he returned home.
At the stairway of the seventh floor, Girl Shishi was sitting in the hallway with her knees hugged tightly to her chest, her face filled with worry. When she saw Chu Donglin return unharmed, she broke into a joyful smile and leaped toward him.
“Dad, are you okay?”
Chu Donglin reached out and caught the girl, smiling as he patted her head. He carried her back to the living room. "Of course I'm fine. I'm the strongest; a mere Mutated Black Hawk can't threaten me."
The girl was still worried, her hands exploring Chu Donglin's body until she finally confirmed there were no injuries, and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Don't you trust me?"
Chu Donglin set the girl down and walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch for her.
For the entire afternoon, Chu Donglin cleared all the First-Stage Zombies from several streets nearby. As his strength grew, he finally dared to venture into some farther neighborhoods.
It was daytime, and the blazing sun illuminated the city. All the Second-Stage Zombies hid in their lairs, too afraid to come out.
As he walked, Chu Donglin sensed at least twenty Second-Stage Mutated Zombies nearby. Although they seemed restless, they were too fearful to emerge under the sunlight.
Clearly, these creatures had experienced the pain of being forced into the sun and suffering its scorching heat.
Throughout the afternoon, Chu Donglin found over thirty First-Stage Zombies. He selected the one with the highest level of evolution and strength to control, while he eliminated the others.
Chu Donglin planned to conduct an experiment to see if he could control a Zombie of the same tier, which was crucial for his upcoming plan.
He first bound the Zombie with chains and ropes to a stone pillar so it couldn't move, then fed it enough Energy Crystals.
Soon enough, this experimental White Mouse fell into a coma and began its second evolution, while Chu Donglin returned to a nearby residential building to await the results.
The next two days felt like years to Chu Donglin.
He no longer ventured out to hunt other Zombies; instead, he stayed at Home with the girl, reading fairy tales from storybooks to her every day. It was puzzling how much she enjoyed listening to him read, even though she could read the books herself.
Chu Donglin, feeling bored and in need of something to occupy his time, did not refuse her request.
On nights when the moonlight was bright, he would take the girl outside to sit on the platform and tell her stories, maximizing their exposure to the moon's energy.
Bathed in the cool moonlight and feeling the gentle autumn breeze, they listened to the occasional roar echoing from somewhere in the city, which somehow brought a strange sense of peace.
Once the girl fell asleep around midnight, Chu Donglin carefully carried her back to their room, gently placing her on the bed and covering her with a blanket before quietly returning to the platform to continue absorbing the moonlight's energy.
To be honest, while the energy from the moonlight wasn't abundant, its purity was high and it lasted a long time. Given this opportunity to enhance his strength, even if it was just a small fraction, Chu Donglin was unwilling to let it slip away.
The city at night was very quiet. This once-thriving metropolis had now become a kingdom of Zombies, and the few remaining Survivors were finding life increasingly difficult.
Although Chu Donglin had not interacted with any of the Survivors he occasionally encountered during this time, he could see that as Mutated Zombies grew stronger and High-Level Zombies became more numerous, ordinary people's lives would become increasingly unsafe without sufficient weapons.
Chu Donglin did not believe that those ordinary people could escape unscathed when facing Second-Stage Zombies—let alone the potential presence of Third-Stage Zombies lurking in some corner of the city.
Through his observations during this time, Chu Donglin had already discerned a pattern in the emergence of High-Level Zombies.
Generally speaking, in areas with higher population density, there were more Mutated Zombies. The frequency of their brutal battles leading to evolution into High-Level Zombies also increased.
Even in this area close to the city center, there are so many Second-Stage Zombies roaming about. Chu Donglin believes that in such a densely populated area, there must be real Third-Stage Zombies lurking.
Under the increasingly terrifying shadow of the Zombies, this dark city before him is undoubtedly dead.
Once a brightly lit metropolis, it now barely has a functioning water supply system. But as time passes, that system may not hold out much longer.
The rescue that should have arrived has been delayed, and all means of communication have vanished.
With the power cut off and Zombies rampant, humans struggling in this wasteland of a world can feel utterly isolated and helpless.
Currently, these Survivors can still rely on the food they scavenge from supermarkets to survive, navigating through the cracks left by the Zombies.
However, the food in the supermarkets will eventually run out, and not all of it can be preserved for long periods. The longer it takes, the more expired food there will be, and soon the Survivors will face a dire situation with nothing left to eat.
This is an unchangeable reality. Even now, Chu Donglin cannot prevent this evolution from occurring.
In the face of disaster, both humans and Zombies can seem insignificant. He has recently begun planning to relocate from the urban area to live in the suburbs far away from the city and its Zombies.
Only by planting his own crops and finding drinking water there can he sustain the girl, Shishi.
Moreover, humans are ultimately social creatures; he cannot allow Shishi's childhood to be spent in solitude. He might play the role of a father, but he cannot fulfill all roles.
He needs to find teachers for her, neighbors, and playmates of her age. For now, Chu Donglin can still largely control his desire to feed on living beings. When he is with Shishi, he rarely entertains any wicked thoughts of wanting to devour her.
He felt that he had now acquired the ability to live among humans. Although it was strange for a Zombie to coexist with them, he could endure it for the sake of the Girl's future.
Moreover, ensuring his parents' safety was also a necessity.
Once he became stronger and adequately prepared, perhaps he could take the Girl and traverse the lands of three provinces to return to Wangcheng, his hometown, in search of his parents.
Unlike Pear City, there was a military district near Wangcheng, and the army always had a disaster response system in place.
In the event of an Apocalyptic Disaster, the ones who would suffer the least losses would undoubtedly be those well-trained elite soldiers.
They possessed powerful weapons and ammunition; in front of tanks and aircraft, even a Third-Stage Zombie would have no choice but to surrender.
His parents lived in a Shelter established by the military, which could be incredibly safe.
However, what would he do when he brought the Girl back to meet his parents?
"Mom, Dad, this is my adopted daughter, named Shishi. Come on, Shishi, greet your grandparents."
Thinking about how he had never even gotten married yet suddenly had an eight-year-old daughter, along with the serious way the Girl would bow to his parents and the expressions of friends and family, Chu Donglin felt his mouth twitching.
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