Clearing Out the Zombies

The hotel had an elevator, and it was on an independent power system, so it could still be used normally. But An Yang didn't dare take it; he chose the safer stairs instead.

After all, elevators were too unreliable and uncontrollable. If the doors opened on some floor and it was packed with zombies, he'd be done for.

An Yang pulled out his phone and glanced at it. The number read 4/5000. He put the phone away and continued downward by the light of the emergency lamp.

A long and arduous road lay ahead!

He didn't know where the hotel's warehouse was, so what he needed most right now was food. The snacks and cookies in the hotel could fill his stomach, but they weren't a real meal. There was food in his Portable Space too, but that was only for emergencies.

At the end of the day, he wasn't in the apocalypse to survive. He was here for the mission and the independent Second System. That set him apart from everyone else in this world. Different goals led to different methods.

Fortunately, the other subsystems were almost entirely independent. For them to influence each other, communicate, or even connect, they all had to go through the Time-Space Travel Phone in his hand. The phone was the main system—or rather, the central system—with the ability to regulate the others. The other systems were just components with independent functions. From that perspective, he held the initiative.

So there was no need to rush.

There was a small supermarket next to the hotel. It should have plenty of things—vacuum-packed chicken legs, pig trotters, beef jerky, and the like. Also ham sausages, bread, instant noodles, and high-calorie stuff like chocolate and candy...

An Yang had already scoped it out from the suite. There weren't many zombies wandering the streets during the day, especially around the hotel entrance. And today, there were even fewer than yesterday. But he didn't want to take risks. He needed to check the situation first.

Right now, he was wearing a set of camouflage combat gear from the Escape from the Amazon world, with tactical boots on his feet. They were light and easy to move in, and they made no sound as he walked.

Suddenly, a crunching sound came from ahead, along with the noise of chewing and swallowing, mixed with mindless growls. In the dim stairwell, it made his scalp crawl.

An Yang hid around the corner and peered forward. He saw a fat-headed zombie with its back to him. In front of it lay a corpse in a short skirt and black stockings. The summer heat was intense, and the body gave off a strong, foul stench.

"Crunch crunch... growl..."

The zombie kept feasting away, seemingly chewing on the woman's bones.

An Yang crept closer, gripping his combat blade with both hands.

The zombie seemed to hear or smell something. It suddenly stopped moving and turned its head, revealing a hideous face and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Growl!"

Blade up, blade down—deadly precise!

"Thud!"

A head rolled to the floor. But that roar had already echoed through the silent hotel. One stone stirred a thousand ripples. From the stairwells and rooms below came countless roars, making it feel like he was in the middle of a zombie nest. A chill ran down his spine.

Three figures suddenly appeared from below. The moment they saw him, they charged up like they'd been injected with adrenaline.

An Yang glanced left and right, quickly making the best judgment. The stairwell was narrow. No matter how good his skills were, he couldn't maneuver well. Close-quarters fighting with crazy monsters like zombies was definitely not ideal. His only advantage was the high ground.

He thought about pulling out his pistol but abandoned the idea. Instead, he tightened his grip on the combat blade.

Because the three zombies weren't charging up together. That gave him a chance to show off his technique.

Time to test his skills!

The hand holding the blade trembled slightly. The muscles in his arms bulged, and the lean muscles of his upper body swelled, becoming powerful.

"Thud!"

A clean, vertical slash split the first zombie's head in two. Dark red, foul blood sprayed out.

The second and third zombies were almost side by side, bloodstains hanging from their teeth.

An Yang yanked his blade free with force, then kicked out with all his strength. One zombie flew backward, tumbling down the stairs.

"Bang!"

Right after, he sidestepped sharply, dodging the third zombie's claws. A heavy, diagonal slash severed its hands. Then another horizontal cut took off its head.

He finally let out a breath, his tightly wound nerves relaxing.

As for the last zombie, it was no longer a threat. One slash and it was done.

An Yang took a deep breath, retrieved the crystals from the zombies' brains, glanced at the woman's corpse—her head and upper body eaten—and quickly headed downstairs.

So far, the Intermediate Melee Weapon Mastery was working well. The brainpower twice that of an ordinary person was also very useful, especially the reaction speed. It made him exceptionally smooth in combat.

He realized now that these monsters weren't as terrifying as he'd imagined. As long as he found the right approach, they were easy to handle. Their fearlessness was an advantage, but it was also a weakness.

By now, roars were sounding from every floor. Who knew how many zombies were locked in the rooms? The whole hotel was like a giant prison. An Yang walked through it, his scalp tingling, feeling like a zombie might jump out of the walls at any moment.

As he came down the stairs, he encountered another half-eaten corpse, a bloody mess.

He frowned and hurried past.

It wasn't until he reached the ground floor lobby that he spotted the zombies. Two security guards and two female receptionists. In the center of the lobby was a pile of bloody bones.

Four zombies!

At least the lobby was spacious enough for him to move. The male and female zombies would definitely have different burst speeds. He could create distance and take them out.

Thinking this, An Yang didn't hesitate. He suddenly crouched low, then shot forward like a cheetah, charging straight at the two female zombies. A quick slash took off one's head. A kick sent the other flying, and another slash removed hers.

A speed twice that of an ordinary person was truly something!

By the time the two male zombies reacted, they were already charging at him.

"Growl!"

An Yang gripped his blade. His 2.0 brainpower worked at full speed, his reaction time fully utilized. He lunged forward, sidestepped sharply, and brushed past the zombies. The blade cut through in a perfect arc.

"Thud."

The first zombie fell.

An Yang breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face the second zombie.

One strike, one kill, continued!

One-on-one, the zombies were far inferior to him in every aspect and posed no threat at all.

An Yang retrieved the crystals from all four zombies one by one. The data on his phone now read 12/5000. He stood in the lobby catching his breath, when he happened to glance down and noticed a tear in his Camouflage Uniform at the waist.

His face suddenly went pale!

When had this happened!

Just now?

If his camouflage uniform had been torn during the fight with the zombies, didn't that mean he had brushed past death!

An Yang's expression turned grim. It seemed his skills still weren't up to par. He couldn't handle multiple enemies at once. He would have to be more careful from now on and never take risks unless absolutely necessary.

He crept to the entrance of the hotel lobby, pressed himself against the wall as he slipped out, and quickly descended the steps. He saw no sign of any zombies.

He crossed the landscaped area to the hotel's main gate and, with lightning speed, killed the guard at the entrance. Only then, through the window of the guard booth, did he see a few zombies wandering on the street.

Blocked by the Retractable Iron Gate, these zombies couldn't easily get in.

If he drew his pistol, or took another risk to kill these zombies, it wouldn't be a problem. But he was afraid of attracting more. So he could only sneak a peek to survey the environment and plan his next move carefully.

His eyes suddenly lit up. He spotted a black Backpack on the ground. It was filled with a bunch of vacuum-packed cooked food. Meat products, salt-baked chicken legs were scattered all over the ground, as if someone had dropped it while fleeing in a panic.

"Hm?"

Heaven helps me!

The zombies on the street were already sparse, and the Great Calamity had caused considerable chaos. Several cars were parked haphazardly at the hotel's main entrance, providing cover. This was a perfect opportunity.

He didn't even need to risk going to the supermarket!

No sooner thought than done. An Yang quickly vaulted over the retractable iron gate, crouched low as he moved forward, and began picking up the cooked food and stuffing it into the backpack. Moments later, he grabbed the backpack and left.

He flicked his sleeve, taking nothing else with him.

He crossed the park-like hotel grounds and arrived at the entrance of the accommodation building. Suddenly, a window on an upper floor flew open, startling him.

A woman with a delicate face leaned out. The moment she saw him, she began shouting desperately.

"Hey, hey, mister, save me!"

An Yang paused, stopped in his tracks, and glanced at her.

"You're a survivor too?"

"Yes, yes! I'm starving! Can you give me something to eat first, then we can talk?"

"Forget it, there's nothing to say."

An Yang shook his head, took two chicken legs from the backpack, and tossed them up to her. Without another word, he stepped into the lobby and headed upstairs.

He pulled out his room card, but as he passed the zombie that had been a cleaner, he suddenly froze.

If he remembered correctly, hotel cleaners usually carried a Master Key Card that could open every door!

An Yang slapped his forehead. How could he have forgotten that!

With that, why would he need to risk going to the supermarket? There were so many rooms in the hotel. Even if he only took the instant noodles and vacuum-packed food from inside, it would definitely be enough to last him a month.

So, suppressing his disgust, he bent down and fumbled around on the zombie's body. He finally found a blue card. He tried it on a random door. With a beep, it opened.

There were no zombies inside, nor any people. It was an empty suite.

An Yang walked straight in, tossed the backpack onto the sofa, and then went back to his original room to move all the food he had scavenged over here. He was officially relocating to this room.

"Rip..."

A bag of roast chicken was torn open.

In the afternoon, a figure sat cross-legged in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding two crystals in his hands.

"Hoo..."

An Yang slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. It coiled into a ball, lingering in the air without dispersing.

Crystals could indeed help with cultivation, but their effect wasn't as great as he had imagined. It was much better than cultivating alone in the park. If he had a larger quantity, the effect might be even better.

"Forget it, the mission is more important!"

An Yang put away the two crystals, picked up the master key card, and left the room. Gripping his combat knife tightly, he began clearing the zombies from the other rooms one by one, also collecting the food from each room as he went.

By nightfall, this floor had been completely cleared.

Not many suites were occupied. Only four rooms had zombies, and he had killed them all.

By now, the data on his phone had changed to 23/5000.

It was only when he was clearing the last room that he found a survivor.