The temperature was probably around forty degrees Celsius, with thin smoke still lingering in the air.
Pits and potholes were everywhere, the buildings in the residential area were mostly destroyed, and only the charred roots of green plants remained.
Zhao Yin wore a gas mask, his backpack simply contained some food and water, and he carried a bone-cutting knife in one hand.
A rolled-up magazine was taped to his left forearm, with a pig-slaughtering knife inserted there.
The entire world was silent.
In this Apocalypse, he had long grown accustomed to solitude.
Zhao Yin walked alone, as if he were the only person left in the world, stepping into the hazy smoke.
He headed straight for the Guang Province Second Middle School family compound!
Along the way, Zhao Yin saw countless corpses; some had half their bodies burned by flames, others had their heads pierced by meteorites…
The Apocalypse struck in the early morning, when most people were indoors and ultimately buried in buildings.
But these corpses had not decayed due to the high temperatures.
Zhao Yin knew that at midnight tonight, all the dead would rise again, and by devouring flesh, their broken bodies would grow whole.
They would then continue to devour flesh and Star Crystals, beginning to evolve and ultimately becoming the nightmare of survivors.
As Zhao Yin passed a mall that hadn’t completely collapsed, he vaguely felt a scrutinizing gaze.
He paused, turning his indifferent gaze towards it.
The upper floors of the mall had collapsed, but due to good construction quality, the bottom floor had barely survived.
It wasn’t surprising that someone had survived, as the mall had ample food and water, was large enough, and had good fireproofing and insulation.
Zhao Yin didn’t intend to pay attention and continued to walk forward.
At this moment, in an office within the mall, a dark-faced figure was peering from behind a crack in the wall, his bright eyes fixed on Zhao Yin’s retreating figure.
Only when Zhao Yin disappeared into the ruins did his expression slowly relax.
This was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, his school uniform dirty and torn, its original color almost unrecognizable.
“Alright, he’s gone.
There won’t be another person to share our food.”
“Brother, isn’t what we’re doing a bit wrong?”
In the corner behind the boy, huddled a girl of eleven or twelve.
One of her arms was clearly fractured, splinted with two burnt wooden boards wrapped in rags, with dark brown bloodstains.
“The supermarket’s food area collapsed, and we don’t have much food left.
How can we feed another person?” the boy sighed.
“But didn’t Brother Wang go to the collapsed area to look for food?” the little girl pouted, unconvinced.
“Brother Wang has been gone for three days.
Are you sure he’ll still come back?” the boy retorted.
The little girl fell silent, slowly lowering her head.
The boy stepped forward and gently stroked the little girl’s head: “Xiao Dao, when Mom and Dad left, I promised them that no matter what, I would keep you alive.
I swear on Song Xiaojian’s name!”
If Zhao Yin were here, he would surely recognize that the little girl, who was currently only eleven or twelve, was Xiao Dao…
Zhao Yin didn’t know what he had missed, as he quickly moved through the ruins.
Along the way, he felt the presence of several other survivor locations, but he ignored them all.
He was already not far from the Guang Province Second Middle School family residential area.
Suddenly, Zhao Yin paused, turning to look at a meteorite crater not far away.
In the dim yellow sunlight, a faint red light refracted.
He quickly jumped into the crater and began digging with his bone-cutting knife.
In just a moment, a walnut-sized, blood-red crystal was clutched in Zhao Yin’s hand.
Star Crystal!
Zhao Yin hadn’t expected to find his first Star Crystal so quickly.
Information about Star Crystals from his previous life was practically ingrained in the blood of every survivor.
During the month-long meteorite shower, a blood-red crystal was mixed in, later called Star Crystal, most of which were buried by ruins.
Zhao Yin had only heard that in the early days of the Apocalypse, Star Crystals existed on the surface.
With the zombie outbreak at midnight tonight, all the surface Star Crystals would be devoured by zombies.
Only a very small number fell into the hands of survivors.
Later, if survivors wanted to obtain Star Crystals, they either had to kill zombies and extract them from their bodies, or rely entirely on luck.
Star Crystals could yield all sorts of things; even seven years into the Apocalypse, no one could clearly state how many types there were.
All Star Crystals looked the same on the outside; they might only yield food and water, or perhaps a pack of toilet paper…
If one was lucky, they could get extraordinary equipment, Evolution Potions…
The hardest to get was the Ability awakening potion.
Ability, in the Apocalypse, was coveted by everyone, exceeding human imagination before the Apocalypse.
In front of an Ability User, any evolver could only bow down, and ordinary people were worse than pigs or dogs.
But even within the same type of item, there were strengths and weaknesses, later categorized from F-grade to SSS-grade.
For example, a piece of bread of F-grade might only help a person quickly recover stamina, with minor injury recovery being the absolute maximum.
But above F-grade, it might directly increase physique, regrow severed limbs…
Zhao Yin squeezed hard, and the Star Crystal in his palm was perfectly intact.
Only then did he remember that this body had not yet undergone any evolution.
He placed the Star Crystal on a hard concrete slab in front of him, raised his bone-cutting knife, and struck it hard.
Crack!
Several cracks appeared on the Star Crystal, followed by a burst of white light that lasted for three seconds.
When the white light dissipated, a green military jacket appeared in its place.
It was actually a piece of equipment!
The first Star Crystal after the Apocalypse yielded equipment.
Although based on experience, this military jacket felt like it was only F-grade.
But even so, its toughness was absolutely incomparable to the clothes he was wearing.
Ordinary iron tools could hardly scratch it.
This was a good sign, and a hint of joy flashed in Zhao Yin’s eyes.
He immediately stripped off his clothes and put on the military jacket, instantly feeling a sense of security.
With the zombie outbreak tonight, having this military jacket would elevate his safety by a notch.
He put on his backpack, carried the bone-cutting knife, and continued forward.
The path was clear, but he didn’t encounter any more Star Crystals lying on the surface.
Soon, Zhao Yin arrived outside the Guang Province Second Middle School family compound.
It had long become a ruin, utterly silent.
If Zhao Yin hadn’t known in advance that Lin Tianfeng was here, he would never have believed there were still living people.
Zombies and mutated beasts hadn’t yet mutated, and survivors at this time were still immersed in the sudden disaster.
Most people would instinctively choose to stay in a safe place to observe further.
But some people were exceptions, such as Lin Tianfeng, a middle school English teacher.
He was currently carrying a cleaver, looking dispirited as he crawled out of a largely collapsed basement, fresh blood still staining his white T-shirt.
Under the dim yellow sunlight, Lin Tianfeng looked at the ravaged world, momentarily falling into a daze.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of cold eyes were watching him from behind a broken wall.
Zhao Yin understood that appearing too early would alter Lin Tianfeng’s timeline, very likely causing him to miss the Star Crystal carrying the ‘Soul of Contract’.
In his previous life, Zhao Yin met Lin Tianfeng three days later.
By then, Lin Tianfeng had already obtained the Soul of Contract.
However, he hadn’t contracted any Contracted Beasts, and Lin Tianfeng’s strength was still that of an ordinary person.
While searching for supplies, his leg was broken by a falling wall, and Zhao Yin saved his life.
Previously, Zhao Yin didn’t know exactly when Lin Tianfeng obtained the Soul of Contract.
But now it was confirmed: the time was today!
Tonight’s zombie outbreak would devour most of the surface Star Crystals.
In Lin Tianfeng’s current state, it would be impossible for him to compete with zombies, let alone have the strength to blindly dig through rubble.