Little Chubby sobbed continuously, his cries sharp and fragile.
When a cold, hard object was suddenly jammed into his mouth, his entire body went stiff. His face drained of color, and his lips trembled so violently he couldn’t squeeze out a word.
He was, after all, just a child who had never encountered such a terrifying ordeal.
The bone-chilling horror far exceeded what his young mind could handle.
Watching her son swallow the energy core, Wu Fang felt as though an invisible hand were squeezing her heart.
Terror traveled through her bloodstream to every limb.
She knew she could be infected at any moment and turn into one of those mindless, ravenous zombies.
Unless…
Su Bai’s voice chimed in at just the right moment, calm and devoid of emotion: “If you swallow another mutant energy core, you might survive.”
Those words acted like a faint beam of light, instantly illuminating Wu Fang’s dimming eyes. She snapped her head up, her tone frantic and pleading: “Then can you help me?”
Su Bai remained silent, offering no reply.
Right now, their main priority was to keep moving; the last thing they needed was to actively provoke mutants. How could they easily secure another energy core?
Besides, Su Bai was not an ability user yet, and attempting an awakening carried severe risks—mutants rarely left their victims with minor injuries.
Just then, Jin Chao walked over, his brows tightly furrowed and his tone leaving no room for argument: “We need to clear out of here first.”
This spot was far too exposed, and Little Chubby’s agonizing screams earlier had likely drawn nearby mutants. If they got surrounded, none of them would escape easily.
Xia Ran nodded quickly, calling for everyone to evacuate immediately.
As the group moved out, someone noticed that the wound on Little Chubby’s arm had stopped bleeding—the core he swallowed earlier was clearly taking effect.
There was a real chance he might successfully awaken an ability, especially given his high body mass and caloric reserves.
Perhaps this was a rare silver lining reserved for heavier individuals.
Those who used to mock fat people would never have guessed that post-infection, a heavier person’s energy capacity during awakening would far exceed that of others.
Wu Fang’s condition, however, was worsening much faster than anticipated.
An infected person with a strong constitution might hold out for a few hours, but a large patch of Wu Fang’s skin had already turned a bizarre bluish-white—the clear onset of zombification.
Once that hue spread across her entire body, she would lose her mind completely and turn into a mindless, bloodthirsty walking corpse. At that point, mutants would view her as one of their own and cease attacking her.
Trailing at the back of the group, Wu Fang staggered with unsteady footsteps, her reactions slowing down. Every step demanded all the strength she could muster.
“Mommy…”
Noticing his mother’s strange state, Little Chubby stopped and tugged at her hem, his voice trembling with tears. “Mommy, you’re going to be okay, right?”
Although the boy was usually gluttonous, willful, and a handful to manage, the terror and worry in his eyes right now were unmistakably genuine.
Wu Fang was his only living relative, his sole pillar of support in this apocalypse. He couldn’t lose her.
Wu Fang’s eyes turned red as tears welled up inside them. She gripped her kitchen knife tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. A single conviction took root in her mind:
She had to live. She had to stay by her child’s side and watch him grow up.
Taking a deep breath to suppress her tears, she forcibly shoved Little Chubby into a nearby abandoned shop, slamming the door shut. Her voice was raspy yet firm: “Little Chubby, hide here. No matter what happens outside, do not come out.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Wu Fang let out a piercing scream that echoed down the entire street.
She knew better than anyone that mutants were extraordinarily sensitive to noise. A scream of this volume was guaranteed to draw every nearby mutant to her position.
As a speed-type user, Qiao Sheng had the fastest reaction time. Almost the instant Wu Fang screamed, he bolted over and clamped his hand tightly over her mouth.
It was already too late. From the far end of the street came that distinct, sickening “swoosh-splat” noise of approaching mutants—
They were here.
Wu Fang knew full well that with her baseline human physique, she stood no chance of killing a mutant on her own.
She had deliberately screamed to make a desperate gamble: by drawing the mutants over, she hoped to seize an opportunity in the chaos to consume an energy core. Even if there was only a slim chance of survival, she had to take it—just to spend a little more time with her child.
Maternal love was selfless, yet the instinct for survival was inherently selfish. She couldn’t let go of her child, her very last reason for living.
Jin Chao’s eyes turned cold.
His mental perception ability had clearly picked up the approaching mutant aura. He barked sharply: “They’re here! Prepare for combat!”
“Understood!”
His squad members answered immediately, snapping into combat stances and watching the end of the street with sharp, guarded eyes.
Qiao Sheng and Qiao Xiao were biological brothers whose years together granted them a level of tacit understanding far beyond ordinary comrades. Standing back-to-back, their eyes were as keen as eagles.
Though Jin Chao disliked Lin Yao, he had to rely on her spatial utility, so he issued a low order: “Fang Cheng, Qiao Xiao, protect Lin Yao.“
Fang Cheng and Qiao Xiao immediately closed in, shielding Lin Yao in the center.
Though still nervous, having guards surrounding her eased Lin Yao’s anxiety somewhat. Her eyes instinctively drifted toward Xia Qing, harboring a trace of subtle malice:
Without a spatial user’s protection, what will Xia Qing do? Will Su Bai and Xia Ran die here?
She knew that while Su Bai was affected by Xia Qing’s charm, he didn’t bear a permanent imprint yet. He held a favorable impression of Xia Qing, but not absolute loyalty—certainly not enough to lay down his life for her.
As for Xia Qing herself, she didn’t ask for anyone’s protection, but her physical baseline was fairly average with minimal muscle strength. Facing these mutants head-on, she might not last long.
The wet, squelching sounds of the mutants drew closer, carrying a repulsive, sticky quality that made one’s scalp tingle.
The next second, four or five mutants burst around the street corner and lunged toward the group at staggering speed.
“Here they come!”
Xia Qing tightened her grip on her blade, her eyes showing no fear—only a glint of quiet excitement. She had set her sights on the energy cores inside those creatures.
Lin Yao coveted those cores just as much. In the apocalypse, energy cores were the absolute key to upgrading abilities.
A tacit agreement had long been established among survivors: whoever killed the mutant claimed its core.
However, having spent her past life hiding in the back, Lin Yao still felt tense seeing them up close. These were only entry-level mutants and relatively manageable; the real horrors were the evolved, higher-tier variants.
Worse still was the terrifying, mind-boggling speed at which mutants reproduced.
Amidst the chaos, one mutant didn’t charge at Wu Fang—likely because the infection inside her was already spreading. In its eyes, she was already turning into one of its kind.
Looking at the repulsive monster, Wu Fang felt a wave of nausea. Yet she knew she had drawn these creatures here intentionally; no matter how terrified she felt, she had to charge forward—for her child hiding in the shop, and for that single thread of hope to survive.
“Aah!”
With a raspy roar, she gripped her kitchen knife and charged recklessly at a nearby mutant, hacking wildly at its neck.
The mutant was tall and hulking, its razor-sharp claws glinting with a cold light. Inside its alien-like mouth were dense rows of fangs, dripping infectious pus that threatened danger upon the slightest touch.
With a wet splat, the mutant’s claws punched straight through Wu Fang’s chest.
Blood spurted out instantly, drenching her clothes in red.
Wu Fang’s body went rigid, her eyes filled with bitter unwillingness.
An absolute, crushing unwillingness—after struggling for so long, she ultimately failed to escape her death sentence.
An ordinary human who hadn’t consumed an energy core to modify their body was nothing more than defenseless prey before a mutant.
Her eyes remained wide open, staring fixedly at the shop, filled with lingering concern and heartbreak for her son.
The mutant lowered its head, opening its fang-filled maw to devour her corpse.
“Mom! Mommy!”
Inside the shop, Little Chubby tapped into an unknown surge of strength, violently bursting through the metal door.
He sprinted recklessly toward Wu Fang like a boy possessed, tears streaming down his face like broken pearls and splattering onto his mother’s cheeks.
“Mommy, I promise I’ll never eat junk food again! I’ll lose weight, I’ll be good…”
Sobbing uncontrollably, he tightly hugged Wu Fang’s cold body.
“Mommy, don’t leave me! Don’t leave me all alone…”
“Mommy!”
Little Chubby’s entire frame shook as he wept hysterically.