Chapter 21: Scavenging for Supplies

"God's Punishment," the powerhouse ranked 9th on the Evolution Points leaderboard, had reached a staggering 9,127 points, signifying that he had slain over 9,000 zombies in just two days.

The appearance of such a big shot under his real name instantly pushed the thread to the top of the forum, second only to the pinned post that Lin Yu had paid to feature. Because of this, similar threads began to sprout up across the forum like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

[Trading a red attribute fruit to save a life!!!]

Another trade post for a red attribute fruit appeared.

"OP, red attribute fruits are so rare, how can you bear to give it away? Isn't this a scam?"

"Exactly. You'd actually put a red one up for trade? Wouldn't it be better to just absorb it yourself?"

"Damn, do you think I want to? The point is, even if it’s a strength fruit, I won’t survive long enough to use it!" the OP replied anxiously.

"The OP is just bluffing. A red attribute fruit could grant +50 points. With 50 points of strength added, you’d become a master instantly; zombies would be nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs!"

"You guys don't know anything! I'm hiding in a warehouse next to the zoo. Outside, there's a pack of mutated tigers, lions, elephants, and who knows what else. Are you sure 50 points of strength is enough to fight my way out?"

Once the OP said this, the comment section fell silent.

"Stay safe, OP!"

"Stay safe, OP!"

The comment section was instantly flooded with this single phrase.

Suddenly, a new comment appeared: "I'm 'Yao.' I'm at the same zoo. Send me your exact location, and I'll save you! Remember, the red attribute fruit is mine!"

Another big shot had emerged. He was ranked 5th on the Evolution Points leaderboard.

That night, Lin Yu slept soundly, mostly because he had exerted himself too much the night before. After eating, he took his group and walked out of the hotel as usual. This time, however, the team had two new members: Liu Shiyun and her niece, Liu Ruke.

"Uncle, are we going to fight monsters?"

"Big sister, are you super strong?"

"I want to fight monsters too! I want to protect Mommy!"

The little girl chatted away on the road, full of energy, showing little sign of fear.

"That innocence will likely be snuffed out soon," Lin Yu sighed softly. He looked at the group and said, "Today, we're going to take a detour to the South Street area."

"Why?"

"It’s unlikely anyone will be trading attribute fruits today, so let's go collect the supplies at the Walmart first. If we loop around from the front of the wetland park on West Street, we'll reach the Walmart supermarket."

No one had any objections to Lin Yu's decision.

"Roar!"

Just as they rounded the corner toward the wetland park, several zombies pounced.

"Swish! Swish!"

Wind blades flew through the air, and the heads of the charging zombies instantly flew off, spraying black blood across the ground.

"Ah—woo!"

Liu Ruke, having never seen such a bloody scene, screamed in terror, only to have her mouth covered by a hand.

"Ruke, don't be afraid. Those are monsters."

Liu Shiyun was also pale, but she suppressed her inner terror and immediately covered the little girl's mouth.

"Wuwu—"

"Ruke, don't be scared. Big sister will tell you a secret: these are very wicked monsters that eat people."

The little girl shrank back.

"If you are always afraid, they will bully your mommy and eat both you and her."

"No! I can't let the monsters eat Mommy."

"Then you must be brave. You cannot be afraid, and you definitely cannot scream. You must become strong and kill all the monsters so you can protect your mommy!" Chen Jing'er coached her gently.

"Ruke isn't afraid of monsters. Ruke will protect Mommy," the little girl said, her expression hardening.

In truth, a child's mind is the easiest to mold. Because they are ignorant, they are fearless. Some teenagers who committed crimes before the apocalypse dared to kill simply because of their ignorance. They didn't understand the consequences, so they dared to do things that even adults wouldn't.

After passing the wetland park, they soon arrived at the Walmart supermarket.

"Boss, the door is locked from the inside."

"There isn't a single zombie around. It seems the area has been cleared. There must be quite a few survivors inside."

Liu Yu knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response.

"Kick it open!"

"You got it, Boss."

Liu Yu delivered two heavy kicks, but the door only vibrated; it didn't budge. He was a Level 3 evolver now, and after trading for a few more attribute fruits these past few days, his strength had reached 52 points. A single kick should have packed nearly 1,000 kilograms of force.

"This is the back door. I don't know what they used to reinforce it from the inside, but I can't kick it open."

"Let me try again."

Liu Yu channeled his talent, and an oversized wind blade slashed fiercely at the gate.

"Bang!"

The outer door was torn away, revealing what lay beneath. The wind blade had only left shallow marks on the barrier, unable to cut through it.

"It's that hard?"

"Is this steel? And all sorts of iron, rebar, and the like? How did they fuse these metals together to seal it like this?"

"It must be the ability of an awakened talent. Let me handle it."

Lin Yu wasn't surprised. In the apocalypse, awakened talents were diverse; controlling metal was nothing strange. He stepped forward, flames igniting on his right foot, and delivered a powerful kick.

"Boom!"

The barrier, fused from various metals, was shattered by the immense force, revealing the passageway.

The group stepped inside. Rows of shelves came into view, stocked with all kinds of food. There were hundreds of bags of rice and other grains. Potatoes and sweet potatoes were piled high in a corner.

"Great! There’s so much food here. We won't have to worry about running out for a long time."

"Shiyun, load all of this into your infinite space. Take it all."

Liu Shiyun nodded. She walked to the large shelf, extended her right hand, and a spatial black hole appeared in front of her palm, swallowing the shelf whole.

"This..."

It was the first time the others had seen a spatial talent, and they were all shocked. Seeing this, Lin Yu became even more convinced of his theory: Liu Shiyun's spatial talent was by no means a simple storage device.

The supermarket was massive, and their current location was deep within, where supplies were kept. As they moved along, Liu Shiyun took everything—food, drinks, daily necessities, and toys—refusing nothing and storing it all in her space.

"I can't go on... my mana is exhausted."

After about ten minutes, Liu Shiyun looked exhausted.