“First, you need to become stronger yourself, Master. Second, you need to obtain more superpowers. Third, you need crystal nuclei, the more the better!”
Lin Mingmei also wanted to become stronger. On this point alone, she and the space system were in complete agreement.
She was very familiar with crystal nuclei. In her previous life, not long after the apocalypse began, crystal nuclei started forming inside zombie brains. They came in different colors corresponding to the five elemental attributes, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Superpower users could absorb them to strengthen their abilities.
The more evolved a zombie became, the higher the quality of the crystal nucleus inside its brain.
And she, tragically, had once been the perfect living bait used to lure those high-level zombies.
At the thought of this, her gaze swept across the courtyard littered with shattered zombie skulls.
“They’re too weak. Crystal nuclei haven’t formed inside their brains yet,” Heiqiu immediately explained.
Lin Mingmei withdrew her gaze in disappointment. “Then what exactly do you mean by obtaining ‘more superpowers’?”
“Just like how you ‘ate’ Qin Yueming’s superpowers today! In the future, whenever you encounter another superpower user, you can simply absorb their abilities too!”
Lin Mingmei froze on the spot.
Was this stupid sphere seriously telling her to sleep with every superpower user she met?
Heiqiu bounced excitedly. “Master, that method works perfectly fine.”
Lin Mingmei fell silent.
Get lost. Roll as far away as possible.
Even if a pig awakened a superpower someday, was she supposed to sleep with it too?
Absolutely ridiculous.
No matter how desperately she wanted to survive after being reborn, Lin Mingmei still had principles!
Heiqiu rolled to the edge of the space and then bounced right back. “Master, actually, there’s a much faster and more reliable method to plunder superpowers.”
Lin Mingmei’s eyes lit up. “Speak.”
“Kill them!”
That simple?
In the apocalypse, killing people was practically the easiest thing imaginable.
Once the world collapsed, zombies killed humans, humans killed zombies, and humans killed humans. People would murder each other over a single piece of bread, let alone for the sake of stealing powerful abilities.
In fact, one particular person immediately appeared in Lin Mingmei’s mind.
That scumbag Gao Lang.
In this life, she would personally slit his throat and take his powerful fire superpower for herself!
As Lin Mingmei swept entire rows of supplies from the supermarket warehouse into her storage space, she mentally planned a hundred different gruesome deaths for Gao Lang.
Whenever she encountered a wandering zombie, she casually smashed its skull open and checked for a crystal nucleus. Unfortunately, she found nothing.
Once the warehouse had been thoroughly emptied, Lin Mingmei hesitated briefly before deciding to enter the supermarket’s main shopping area.
The virus outbreak had occurred around lunchtime, which meant the sales floor was definitely packed with zombie employees and customers. Going in alone was extremely dangerous, but greed ultimately won over caution. She wanted to try.
By now, she had replaced her old weapon with a framing hammer she found in the warehouse manager’s office. It fit perfectly in her hand.
After killing more than ten zombies along the way, she finally reached the entrance separating the warehouse from the sales floor. Through the thick transparent plastic curtains, she could vaguely see countless dark figures wandering around.
All zombies.
“Master, I strongly recommend retreating,” Heiqiu warned seriously. “Your physical stamina is nearly depleted, and there’s no more Spiritual Spring water left.”
Lin Mingmei treasured her life above everything else, so she immediately decided to turn back.
But just as she was about to leave, chaos suddenly erupted on the sales floor.
The zombies roared in unison and rushed toward the same direction.
Lin Mingmei reacted faster than she could think. She darted into the shopping aisles, her hand sweeping across shelf after shelf as countless goods vanished into her storage space.
The zombies continued roaring, mixed with agonized screams and the frantic crying of a child.
She hadn’t expected there to still be living people inside at a time like this.
Lin Mingmei felt a fleeting trace of admiration, but that had nothing to do with her. While the living and the zombies were tangled in chaos, this was the perfect chance for her to loot supplies.
As for saving people?
Not interested.
Her heartbeat thundered in her chest as she sprinted through the aisles at full speed. Wherever she passed, the shelves were emptied completely.
Just when she thought the zombies would remain distracted long enough for her to clean out the supermarket, the situation suddenly changed.
Heavy footsteps rapidly approached her position.
Someone was running straight toward her.
Lin Mingmei instantly turned and fled back toward the warehouse.
To her horror, a man carrying a child in his arms was also charging toward the same escape route. Behind him surged an enormous sea of snarling zombies.
Lin Mingmei’s face immediately paled.
“Miss!” the blood-covered man shouted desperately after spotting her. “Please save my child!”
Watching him sprint directly toward her, Lin Mingmei felt both furious and panicked.
Save him? With what?
Was she supposed to throw away her own life?
Against a horde this large, she couldn’t kill them all even if she died nine times.
Couldn’t he run somewhere else?!
But the man was unbelievably fast. In the blink of an eye, he was only two steps away from her. Then he suddenly hurled the child toward her.
You’ve got to be kidding me…
“Master! This man has a speed superpower! Absorb him!” Heiqiu screamed excitedly in her head.
Lin Mingmei instinctively caught the flying toddler. The child’s piercing cries nearly ruptured her eardrums.
Without hesitation, she tucked him under her arm like a football and firmly covered his mouth.
If he kept screaming, every zombie in the area would come running.
The crying immediately stopped.
The man looked at her with overwhelming gratitude. “Miss, take my child and run! Please! I’ll hold these monsters back!”
Before Lin Mingmei could refuse, he turned around and charged straight into the zombie horde.
He intended to use his own life to buy them time.
A speed superpower user…
His movements were too fast for her to stop.
And just like that, her potential speed superpower disappeared.
Lin Mingmei nearly threw the child onto the ground in frustration.
“Master, hurry and run, or it’ll be too late,” Heiqiu urged.
Lin Mingmei didn’t look back again. Holding the child tightly, she escaped from the supermarket area ten minutes later.
The freezing rain soaked through her clothes and splashed across her face, but the little body under her arm burned like a furnace.
The child had a high fever.
Lin Mingmei frowned deeply, unsure what to do with this troublesome burden.
“Master, he’s awakening a superpower right now! Bring him home, and once he awakens successfully, you can absorb him too!” Heiqiu squealed excitedly.
Lin Mingmei stumbled once again, nearly crashing onto the pavement.
Did Heiqiu really think she was that shameless and beastly?
Heiqiu sounded confused. “Master, aren’t you?”
“Shut up!” Lin Mingmei snapped coldly, refusing to listen to another word from this mentally deranged sphere.
The child under her arm trembled weakly and let out a faint whimper.
He was so tiny. She had no idea whether a child this young could survive a superpower awakening, and if he did, what kind of ability he would gain.
With countless thoughts swirling in her mind, Lin Mingmei sprinted back toward her apartment complex at top speed. She still had far too many things to do and couldn’t afford to waste time.
She rushed into her apartment and pushed open the door, only to freeze in shock at the figure sitting on the edge of her bed.
Quickly locking the door behind her, she switched on the light.
Qin Yueming sat stiffly on the bed, wrapped in nothing but a bedsheet around his waist. His expression was blank and dazed.
Other than the sheet, he was completely naked.
Scattered around his feet were piles of black ash-like residue, looking exactly like burned remnants.
Lin Mingmei’s gaze unintentionally swept across his muscular chest, and warmth instantly spread to her ears.
“You’re awake,” she said flatly.
Walking over, she tossed the unconscious child onto the bed. The little boy had likely been muffled for too long and had completely fainted.
Only then did Qin Yueming snap out of his daze regarding the strange changes in his body. He lifted his head and looked at Lin Mingmei with an incredibly complicated expression.
A suspicious flush slowly spread behind his ears.