Chapter Six: Smashing the Supermarket

For the next stretch of time, Lin Dong remained secluded in his home, constantly consuming meat and, in his spare hours, training his zombie underling.

The zombie progressed rapidly. It had mastered weapon usage, graduating from wielding a machete to handling a crossbow. Over these three days, Lin Dong devoured copious amounts of flesh, digesting quickly and absorbing vast energy—by conservative reckoning, at least ten cattle! His body was evolving at a tremendous pace, growing ever more formidable.

Now, Lin Dong’s skin was as tough as rubber; a dagger drawn across it would leave only a faint, pale mark. Conventional human weapons could no longer harm him.

“My head itches… feels like something’s about to grow…”

Swirling a goblet in his hand, Lin Dong rolled his neck. This was the sign of his ascension from Grade C to Grade B. Upon reaching Grade B, a crystal core would condense within a zombie’s skull. His overall strength would surge and he would awaken a new power.

Every zombie’s abilities were unique. Some were basic, such as rapid regeneration, super infection, or bone spike growth. Others, however, were bizarre—hallucination, dream invasion, mental control. Zombies with these strange powers could kill invisibly, making them a headache for all living creatures.

Lin Dong himself had no idea what ability he might awaken. In his previous life, he had lacked sufficient flesh to evolve to that level. He hadn’t even begun his journey before meeting an early demise.

Now, he took a sip from his goblet, his manner exceedingly refined. Energy was being absorbed into his body. After these days of feasting on flesh, Lin Dong had come to a conclusion: beef tasted best, followed by pork, and then chicken. Yet for blood, chicken’s was the most invigorating.

As people often say, “like someone injected with chicken blood.” After drinking it, his cells grew more active, energy absorption accelerated, and even his pale face gained a hint of color.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As Lin Dong sat on the sofa sipping his “drink,” he heard a series of crashing noises from the street outside. With his heightened zombie hearing, he easily picked up the sound.

“What’s going on out there?”

He approached the window, leaning out to observe the street below. He saw a group of humans, heavily armed and wrapped—newspaper around their arms, secured with tape, clearly to prevent zombie bites. They brandished weapons: wrenches, crowbars, even a frying pan.

The leader was a burly man, standing nearly six feet tall and weighing close to two hundred pounds. He wielded a fire axe, hacking furiously at a locked rolling shutter.

Eighty! Eighty! Eighty!

The fire axe swung with force; each blow sent sparks flying. The shutter they attacked was the very supermarket Lin Dong had once operated.

It was obvious: after days of depletion, they had run out of food. Desperation had driven them to risk venturing out in search of sustenance.

“This supermarket used to be well-stocked. Crack it open and we’ll have no worries for food or drink!” The leader glared fiercely, pounding away without pause. He knew that such loud noise would inevitably attract zombies.

“Brother Wang… hurry up! The zombies are coming!”

A man cried out in panic. On the bloodstained, corpse-littered street, five or six zombies had already been drawn by the commotion, howling as they charged toward the group.

Some zombies, starved and deprived of flesh, had begun to decay—hair nearly gone, looking much like an overworked author burning the midnight oil.

Driven by extreme hunger, their faces were twisted and terrifying, enough to make anyone’s hair stand on end.

“Oh my god! That’s horrifying!”

A man’s legs gave out in fright at the sight of them.

The burly leader gritted his teeth and forced out words from his throat.

“You hold them off! The lock’s about to break!”

“All right! Let’s fight the zombies!”

Another shouted, swinging his crowbar and charging the oncoming zombies.

Four men battled the low-grade zombies. These creatures’ limbs were stiff, far less agile than humans, and suffered frequent headshots. Blood sprayed, corpses fell.

But more zombies poured in from all directions, some even leaping from rooftops like dumplings dropping into boiling water.

The men’s stamina quickly waned. For ordinary people, two minutes of all-out fighting was already impressive.

“Ouch… I’ve been bitten! Help me!”

The timid man had his hand seized by a zombie, pain etched on his face.

“Xiao Feng!”

The others wanted to help, but had no strength left. And once bitten, one would become a zombie.

They could only watch as he was overwhelmed by four or five zombies and torn apart. His anguished screams echoed through the streets.

Upstairs, Lin Dong took a sip of crimson liquid, observing the commotion with amusement. He wondered why they bothered smashing his supermarket—everything inside had long been transferred to his storage space.

The man’s shrieks soon faded. As he was devoured, the burly leader, Brother Wang, grew excited.

“The lock’s open! Get inside!”

With a clatter, he yanked up the rolling shutter.

Hearing this, the remaining men’s faces lit up with joy as though hearing celestial music, and they hurriedly dove inside.

One, however, was caught mid-run by a half-zombie on the ground, which grabbed his ankle.

Thud!

He fell flat, panic-stricken, scrambling desperately toward the open door.

“Brothers, quick! Help me!”

Those who had entered grabbed his arms, pulling with all their might.

But more zombies piled onto him, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t drag him inside.

His fallen body blocked the rolling shutter, preventing it from closing. Several zombies squeezed through the gap, frantically trying to get in.

“Brother Wang! What do we do?”

Two men were frantic.

The burly leader swung his fire axe, smashing several zombie skulls, then gritted his teeth.

“We can’t save him! Throw him out—we have to shut the door now!”

“What? But…”

The two hesitated, reluctant to abandon their companion, but in the end, they released their grip in unison.

“You… help me, please!”

The man’s face was filled with despair as zombies dragged him further out, but his survival instinct made him clutch the edge of the shutter with all ten fingers.

At that moment, the burly leader’s eyes reddened, and he brought the fire axe down.

With a sickening sound, the man’s hands were severed, prompting a scream of pain as his body was dragged away and swallowed up by the howling mob.

The rolling shutter finally slammed shut with a resounding clatter.

“Not bad…”

At the window, Lin Dong mused silently. Their performance was impressive—only two casualties, and they’d managed to storm his supermarket, thanks especially to the leader’s decisive action.

If only…

There was nothing left in his shop.