Chapter Twenty-Two: The Tide of Corpses

“These two people...”
If it hadn’t been for that post by Sun Xiaoqiang, Lin Dong might have believed it.
On the official website of the shelter,
there wasn’t just information about rescue teams—
there were also sections for pleas for help, mutual assistance, and general discussion.
Many people from the shelters vented their frustrations there.
“I’m starving, can someone give me something to eat? I can pay with my body, I’m a professional model...”
“Damn! I’d like to help, but I don’t have anything myself.”
“I’m so hungry I can’t take it anymore, maybe I can produce some milk for you to drink...”
“Upstairs, is that real milk you’re talking about?”
“Heh, I dug the foundation yesterday, and the shelter rewarded me with a quarter of an instant noodle block—too much, I couldn’t finish it. Didn’t even add water to the soup, just gulped it down all at once, just to be wasteful....”
“.........”
It was clear: supplies in the shelters were extremely tight, but people themselves were their productive force, which was why they kept rescuing survivors.

Among these posts, someone forwarded a research report from Tech Corp.
‘According to our company’s research, the brains of advanced zombies can produce a Brain Pellet. When human Awakeners absorb it, their strength increases rapidly. Our company is currently capturing Zombie Kings as part of our “King Hunt Operation!”’
This Tech Corp had previously launched a “Zombie Purge Plan”—now they’d concocted a “King Hunt Operation,” growing increasingly audacious.

Lin Dong was pondering this
when suddenly he heard a rough, wailing cry outside the door.
“He’s crying now?”
Judging by the sound, it wasn’t the female zombie Little Eight, but the burly Tank.

Lin Dong walked to the door and opened it.
Sure enough—
a brawny figure appeared, Tank’s muscles bulging all over, but his broad face bore a blackened mark as if scorched by fire.
His body also had wounds from bullets, but thanks to his robust physique, they’d all healed and didn’t pose much threat.

“Wuuuuuuu~~~”
Due to his evolution, Tank now possessed basic emotions; he sobbed heartbreakingly, like a child weighing over two hundred pounds.
His cries conveyed only one meaning:
“Humans bullied me....”

“What happened?” Lin Dong asked.
“Wuuu, wuuu, wuuu.”
Tank waved his hands and feet in exaggerated gestures, like a child complaining to a parent. But with his current intelligence, he couldn’t fully express himself.

At that moment, the Doctor Zombie stepped forward from behind him.
“Your Majesty... it was humans. They’ve occupied the prison and want to hunt us. Among them is someone who has formed a Crystal Core and can manipulate fire.”

“Oh...”
Lin Dong nodded, already guessing what had happened.
Once a human Awakener’s Brain Pellet evolves into a Crystal Core, abilities awaken—clearly, this was a fire-type ability user.

“I wonder what the Crystal Core tastes like?”
He’d eaten mutant beast meat and Brain Pellets, both quite tasty—only the Crystal Core remained untried.
He guessed the Crystal Core must be stronger than the Brain Pellet.

Having holed up at home for half a month, Lin Dong felt it was time to get out and stretch his legs. So, he signaled his subordinates to begin the “hunt.”

“Roar——”
Tank immediately stopped crying and let out a furious roar.
That roar triggered a chain reaction; thousands of zombies in the vicinity grew excited, their howls echoing ceaselessly.

Lin Dong strode onto the ravaged street, followed by three lieutenants: Tank, Little Eight, and Doctor.
Behind them,
a thousand fierce zombies gathered, forming a sizeable zombie horde.
With their strength, in this terrifying apocalypse, they could sweep aside anything.

Mutant rats, snakes, and other creatures on the roadside shrieked and fled at the sight of the savage horde.

“Full army forward.”
“Roar——”
At Lin Dong’s command, the horde unleashed a thunderous roar and charged wildly toward the prison.

.......

Inside the prison, over a hundred armed guards stood watch, wearing matching combat uniforms—they were from Tech Corp.
Using the prison’s high walls and watchtowers, ordinary zombies couldn’t get in,
so the guards were quite relaxed.

In one room, a young man lounged on a sofa, attended by two shapely women.
This youth was the fire-type ability user, Zhang Xiaoyuan.
For him, getting women in the apocalypse was easy—just two pieces of bread sufficed.

Before the apocalypse, Zhang Xiaoyuan had been an overworked office drone.
Now, as an Awakened, Tech Corp had recruited him, providing good food and drink.

“Comfortable~~”
Zhang Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but sigh.
At this stage, few Awakeners could form a Crystal Core.
Having slain advanced zombies and absorbed Brain Pellets, Zhang Xiaoyuan was a definite powerhouse within the human camp.

“I need to hunt more Zombie Kings, keep evolving. In those apocalypse novels... I’m basically the protagonist now, aren’t I?”
He mused to himself.
Food and drink in the apocalypse, women who once wouldn’t look his way now served at his feet, obedient to his every whim.

It was the template for the rise of an underdog...
But just then, someone rushed in.
“Brother Zhang, our drone footage shows a zombie horde heading this way.”
“A horde?”
Zhang Xiaoyuan’s expression didn’t change; he didn’t fear it.
Instead, he thought: if there’s a horde, there must be a Zombie King leading it—hunt it down and harvest Brain Pellets.

“Let’s go, let’s take a look.”
He swiftly climbed up to the watchtower atop the high wall.
Gazing into the distance, he saw the streets covered in a dense mass;
countless zombies raced forward, their howls incessant.

“They’re pretty ferocious... Once they enter firing range, open fire.”
“Yes, sir.”
His companion replied.

As the zombie army neared, a command rang out—
the fire points on the wall erupted in gunfire, bullets raining down in a metallic storm.

But many of Lin Dong’s lesser subordinates had already evolved, their bodies unusually resilient with healing abilities.
A few bullets weren’t much trouble.
They’d rise from the ground and keep charging.

Soon, the horde reached the foot of the high wall and began to build a human ramp.
“Hehehehe~~”
Little Eight laughed eerily. Her jumping ability now immense, she leaped off a zombie and soared directly onto the wall,
slashing her claws to disembowel a guard.

Tank hefted a massive boulder, spinning his body like a discus thrower and hurled it upward.
Boom!
The boulder smashed the watchtower, sending the people inside tumbling from the wall.

“Something’s wrong....”
Zhang Xiaoyuan sensed something amiss; these zombies were no ordinary group.
Then a crossbow bolt shot over,
piercing the head of a guard beside him.

“Holy shit???”
Seeing this, Zhang Xiaoyuan finally realized the gravity of the situation....
......