Chapter 14: The Loquacious Champion

Lin Yu estimated that he had killed at least over 400 zombies, and he had already accumulated 42 crystal cores in his hands. The probability of a crystal core dropping was about one in ten.

“Jing, you take these.”

Lin Yu handed 40 crystal cores to Chen Jing’er and said, “Hold the cores firmly in your hands and focus on absorbing them.”

Since he had promised to help her level up, Lin Yu had no intention of going back on his word—after all, she was his first woman.

Moreover, Chen Jing’er had a magical attribute but had not yet awakened her talent, which meant her innate gift was very strong and required a special opportunity to awaken.

The harder a talent was to awaken, the more formidable it became once it did.

“Mrs. Lin, you’re so kind,” Chen Jing’er said, tossing her hair with a bright smile in her eyes.

Mrs. Lin?

Lin Yu’s expression darkened.

“Boom!”

A burst of flames shot from his hand, instantly turning more than a dozen rushing zombies into two crystal cores, which he casually picked up.

“Wow, Mrs. Lin, I’ve reached level 2!”

Chen Jing’er was ecstatic. The absorption process was quick; in about three minutes, she had absorbed all forty crystal cores.

She smoothly advanced to level 2, with all four main attributes increasing by 10, plus an additional 10 free attribute points.

“Mrs. Lin, let’s keep killing!”

With 14 points of strength and 25 points of speed, Chen Jing’er felt a bit euphoric.

Liu Yu and Yang Shanshan glanced at the noticeably stronger Chen Jing’er with some envy, but they didn’t dwell on it.

With Lin Yu leading, the group cut a swath through the zombies.

The hotel was located on West Cross Street, closer to the foot of West Yun Mountain but farthest from the urban center.

Therefore, the population and the number of zombies in West Street were the smallest, while the central Cross Street and the other three streets had a much larger concentration.

The key was the plaza on the main street, where loud music played all day long.

On the first day of the apocalypse, most zombies were drawn by the sound, gathering there.

Elsewhere, zombies were scattered, with no large congregations, which made things easier for them.

By about 6 p.m., they had cleared roughly one-third of the West Street area.

“Time’s about up. Let’s call it a day,” Lin Yu said as they left the bakery and headed back to the hotel.

“Boss, thank you. Without you, we wouldn’t know how to survive in this apocalypse,” the young couple said gratefully, truly respecting him from the bottom of their hearts.

“Thanks should go to yourselves—you’ve all fought hard to protect each other,” Lin Yu said, genuinely admiring them.

“In any case, from now on, you’re my boss,” Liu Yu said firmly.

Lin Yu smiled faintly without contradicting him. “Same as always tomorrow, keep grinding.”

Hearing this, the three exchanged awkward looks but felt it made sense.

Indeed, with Lin Yu around, fighting the zombies that terrified ordinary people was as easy as battling monsters in a game.

Both Liu Yu and Yang Shanshan reached level 2, while Chen Jing’er advanced to level 4.

Each person’s strength increased dramatically; killing zombies alone was no longer difficult.

Only two or three people remained in the hotel lobby.

“Do you think they’ve already been eaten by zombies?” Huang Mao muttered softly as he looked outside.

Inside, he could only see the street about four or five meters in front; the scenes on the adjacent streets were out of view.

Just then, four figures appeared in his sight.

Startled, Huang Mao hurriedly opened the door.

“This is for you.”

Lin Yu tossed a bag of cakes into the hotel as he entered.

“Thanks, boss!” Huang Mao exclaimed joyfully, bowing deeply at 90 degrees.

Back in the room, Lin Yu and Chen Jing’er entered the bathroom for another fierce battle.

In the end, the fight was once again ended by Chen Jing’er’s stubbornness.

This girl truly was the queen of tough talk.

Everywhere else was weak, but her mouth refused to give in.

Lin Yu took out 60 crystal cores from his backpack and silently absorbed them.

Before long, the power from 70 crystal cores was fully consumed. He directly reached level 3, with his attributes significantly improved.

At level 0, each level up granted +500 magic power, +5 points to each of the four main attributes, and +5 free attribute points.

Without hesitation, he put all 15 additional free points at level 3 into strength.

But that wasn’t all.

Lin Yu took out all the attribute fruits and began to consume them.

“I wonder what attribute this one has?”

He held the one Chen Jing’er had given him with excitement—it was worth 50 attribute points.

[Strength +50]

“Not bad at all, it’s a strength attribute.”

Next came three yellow fruits and 46 green fruits.

Soon, all the attribute fruits were fully absorbed.

He checked his stats.

[Level: Rank 0, Level 3]

[Magic Power: 8600]

[Strength: 156]

[Constitution: 56]

[Speed: 50]

[Spirit: 130]

[Talent: S-Rank Flame Controller: Evolving…]

[Unlocked Fire Forms: Blaze, Dragon’s Flame (Unlocking…)]

Looking at his current attribute panel, Lin Yu was very satisfied.

Compared to his talent, strength and magic power were the most important.

The next morning.

“One day, I will definitely make you kneel beneath me.”

Chen Jing’er lay weakly on the bed, clenching her fists to encourage herself.

“Heh, naïve!” Lin Yu ruthlessly shot her down.

—

Today, the four-person team went out again.

They changed direction this time, clearing the street to the right of the hotel.

“Mrs. Lin, something feels off. Why are there so few zombies here?”

Two hours later, Chen Jing’er looked at the eerily silent street with great caution.

Lin Yu narrowed his eyes slightly.

Logically, there should have been many zombies on this street and even inside the shops lining it.

But now, it was completely empty; only one explanation made sense—the zombies here had already been cleared.

“Clatter, clatter!”

The sound of heavy footsteps approached.