Lu Yin

The shattered earth was riddled with countless cracks. Black smoke obscured the last rays of the setting sun. Countless people struggled along the muddy road, their faces etched with despair and fear. Every so often, someone fell into a crack, and the cries never stopped.

A procession tens of thousands strong stretched out like a long dragon. On either side, at regular intervals, stood a warrior with enhanced physical abilities, protecting the people. They were known as Evolvers.

Ever since a sudden catastrophe struck Earth six months ago, Evolvers had begun appearing one after another.

At the rear of the procession, Lu Yin looked into the distance. He heard a nauseating chewing sound nearby. After a roar, a mutant dog emerged from behind a burning tree, its eyes glowing red and its body two meters long. Blood dripped from its jaws as it charged toward the crowd.

Many survivors screamed in terror at the sight. Lu Yin's gaze sharpened. He drew a strange weapon from his waist. It looked like an iron rod, but one side had been sharpened to a blade's edge.

Lu Yin leaped and brought the rod down with one hand, cleanly severing the mutant dog's head. Blood sprayed across the ground, staining the grass red.

Only after the mutant dog was dead did the procession quiet down. Still afraid, the people continued toward their destination.

Lu Yin put away the iron rod and examined it. A few cracks ran along its surface. "Looks like it won't last much longer."

As the sun set and darkness swallowed the earth, the Evolvers lit fires. The flames spread along the procession as they tried to drive away the Mutant Beasts. The crowd stopped moving, too.

Heading somewhere unfamiliar in the dark was the same as asking to die.

A hoarse burst of static crackled from Lu Yin's walkie-talkie. "Evolver with a call sign ending in three, search for food within a one-kilometer radius."

Lu Yin's Evolver designation was 103. He looked up at the dead mutant dog, picked it up, and tossed it toward the procession. "Eat."

A commotion rose among the people. A few men came forward to butcher the carcass, looking well accustomed to the task, even though scraps of human bone still clung to the dog's jaws.

One mutant dog was enough to feed only twenty or so people. Lu Yin stepped out of the firelight, gripped his iron rod, and walked into the distance.

The chewing never stopped. In the darkness, pairs of glowing green eyes fixed on Lu Yin. They belonged to Mutant Rats. They looked ugly, but their meat was edible.

Lu Yin swung his iron rod, smashing more than ten Mutant Rats. He carried them back and tossed them toward the procession. That was enough for his section.

Suddenly, someone screamed. Lu Yin knew without looking that an Evolver had died. He had no intention of going to help. Who knew what had attacked them? It could have been a venomous snake, a bloodsucking mosquito, or a powerful Mutant Rat capable of biting through steel. Such creatures were not uncommon in the wild.

The procession was quiet. Everyone huddled behind the flames, as if the thin barrier of fire could truly protect them.

Lu Yin looked at them with pity, then raised his eyes to the sky. The stars were so bright and brilliant. The polluted air had completely cleared six months ago, and countless creatures had mutated in its wake, including humans themselves.

No one knew what had caused the mutations. It was as though, overnight, every living thing had become terrifying. Many people had turned into mindless, walking corpses that devoured living creatures wherever they went. They were known as zombies.

The surviving humans had also grown somewhat stronger. The change was slight, but by swallowing the crystals found inside mutated creatures, they could grow stronger. Those people were Evolvers.

It was as if Earth had returned to ancient times overnight: the strong preyed on the weak. Nearly all of the enormous arsenal that had once ruled the planet was destroyed. Lu Yin had seen the weapons depot in his city explode with his own eyes, as if those modern weapons had no place in this new era.

A gust of wind swept by. On the ground, a bloodstained newspaper pinned beneath a stone rustled.

Lu Yin picked it up and read the headline: "February 3, 2200—a day that will go down in history. On that day, Huaxia Sky Five landed on Neptune, and Bai Qian became the first astronaut from Earth to explore Neptune. Neptune is a gaseous planet. On that day..." Lu Yin tossed the newspaper aside. A little girl carefully offered him a roasted animal leg.

Lu Yin accepted it and smiled faintly. "Thank you."

The little girl smiled shyly and ran back to the procession.

The animal leg tasted awful. Even with seasoning, it was still nearly inedible. But Lu Yin ate with satisfaction. He needed a full stomach to keep his strength up.

The flames suddenly flickered. Lu Yin swiftly drew his iron rod and slammed it down, killing a Mutant Mantis that had crossed the fire. If one of these Mutant Mantises got into the crowd, it would cause tremendous casualties. Its blade-like forelegs reflected the red light and were no less sharp than Lu Yin's iron rod.

That night, Lu Yin slept for only two hours. In the meantime, he killed more than ten mutated creatures that tried to attack the procession.

His section suffered few casualties, but other areas fared worse. Dozens of survivors and Evolvers were killed in one stretch by a giant Mutant Boar. It could fire its stiff bristles, and each volley claimed many lives. If several powerful Evolvers had not stepped in, the casualties would have been even worse.

As the sun rose, the procession continued south. They were heading for Jinling, the largest gathering place in Jiangsu Province. There were troops there, plenty of Evolvers, and Zhou Shan, known as the Huaxia Saint of Punishment.

Six months of doomsday had given rise to many Evolvers—and to the Absolute Experts known as the Seven Saints.

Information was still hard to come by, but communication between groups remained possible. Not long ago, Evolvers had been formally divided into ranks: those who had only just swallowed a crystal were Ordinary Evolvers; those with enough strength to overpower an Ordinary Evolver were Human Level Experts; above them were Earthshaker Level Experts, powerful enough to destroy a city, also known as Earth Level Experts.

At the very top were Flying Rank Experts. As the name suggested, they could fly, and were also known as Heavenly Rank Experts. The Seven Saints of Huaxia were seven Heavenly Rank Experts.

After only half a year of apocalypse, this was all the classification they had. Perhaps a more systematic ranking would come later. But as long as those seven who could fly remained alive, they would always stand at the top. That was where the word "Saint" came from. Perhaps countless survivors also hoped those experts would protect them, and that was why they called them Saints.

Jinling Gathering Place had a Saint of its own: Saint of Punishment Zhou Shan.

The procession continued onward. They were still more than a hundred kilometers from Jinling. In peaceful times, the journey would have taken only a few hours. Now it would take at least several days.

Several kilometers from the long procession, countless wandering zombies slowly drew closer, as if they had caught the scent of living prey.

The Evolvers flanking the crowd stood on high alert. Many looked terrified. The zombies were not fast, but they were strong, and their blood contained a potent poison. Even an Evolver's skin would rot upon contact, until their mind was gone and they became just like the zombies. That was the most terrifying part.

Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and gripped his iron rod. Fighting zombies was not difficult. They never changed, unlike Evolvers, who could grow stronger. That was one thing countless survivors were grateful for. If zombies could grow stronger too, they would truly have no chance of survival.

The greatest threat to the survivors now was the Mutant Beasts.

Just as Lu Yin and the others prepared to fight the horde, the zombies suddenly stopped, then turned and walked away. Lu Yin's heart skipped a beat. A bad feeling welled up inside him.

The ground suddenly trembled. At the front of the procession, a gigantic vine surged up from beneath the earth. Its branches and leaves seemed alive as they seized countless survivors. Amid their desperate screams, everyone caught in its grasp was crushed into bloody pulp, which soaked the soil where the vine had taken root.

The survivors fled in terror, as did many of the Evolvers.

Lu Yin's eyelid twitched. This Mutant Vine had definitely reached Earth Level. It was beyond the ability of an Ordinary Evolver to match, even though there was a Human Level Expert in their group.

The Evolvers in the procession had no intention of fighting it head-on. They all fled backward, out of the vine's reach.

After a long while, the vine finally withdrew underground, as if it had eaten its fill.

Countless survivors wept and screamed in despair. Many people broke down under these conditions, including some Evolvers.

Soon, a hoarse burst of static came through the walkie-talkie at Lu Yin's waist. "Rest where you are. Saint of Punishment will come to escort us personally."

At the news, countless people cheered. To the survivors of this era, a Heavenly Rank Expert was like a god. It seemed that as long as one appeared, anything could be resolved.

Lu Yin's expression turned scornful. A Saint? He covered his left arm with one hand. Even now, half his body still hurt, the pain bone-deep, as if it would forever remind him of what had happened that night.

An entire city had been abandoned. All the undestroyed modern weapons had been unleashed on it, and cries of agony had filled the streets. Half his body had been burned away. When he turned back, he had seen those lofty eyes and the blinding golden light.

Liu Shaoge. He would never forget that man, known as the Saint of Light, one of the Seven Saints. Liu Shaoge had made him experience the utmost agony. Lu Yin swore he would repay that pain tenfold.

As the flames rose and darkness fell, Lu Yin was getting ready to rest when screams and sobs came from nearby.

Lu Yin frowned and turned to look. A hundred meters away, more than ten Evolvers surrounded several young women, laughing and jeering without restraint. Several of the girls had barely any clothes left and were silently crying.

It was nothing new. In the doomsday, humanity had fallen into depravity. It was normal. Lu Yin had seen it many times. What could he say? In this kind of world, they couldn't expect to be protected without paying some price.

Lu Yin closed his eyes and let himself relax a little.

In the distance, one of the girls screamed as she was slapped to the ground. "Bitch, I risk my life protecting you, so what's wrong with having some fun? Don't be ungrateful. A couple of days ago, I had my way with a little celebrity. Now she begs me to, and I don't even want her. Get up."

The girl glared furiously at the Evolver, her eyes bloodshot.

The Evolvers around them grinned and laughed. They liked this era. They could do whatever they pleased, and nobody could stop them.

A gust of wind swept by, and someone appeared in front of the Evolvers. It was Lu Yin. He held his iron rod against the Evolver's neck. "Get lost," he said coolly.

Silence fell. Only the girls' silent sobs could be heard.

The Evolver threatened by Lu Yin looked furious. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Lu, this has nothing to do with you. I'm responsible for protecting them."

"You're disturbing me." Lu Yin pressed the sharpened edge of the iron rod down. The Evolver's skin split, and blood ran along the rod.

The Evolver stared at him in alarm. "Fine, fine, you win. They're yours. I won't touch them."

Lu Yin put away his iron rod and walked back to his spot, his expression cold. Many people in the procession watched quietly. They were used to this. Even if the girls had just been killed, nobody would have helped. To them, Lu Yin was the strange one.

The dozen or so Evolvers glared angrily at one another, but none dared act rashly. They knew Lu Yin was strong.

The girls ran up behind Lu Yin, wanting to say something. He kept his eyes closed and ignored them. They could only look at him gratefully before sitting down carefully.

Not long afterward, a beautiful young woman in revealing clothes came over to Lu Yin with a smile. She swept the girls with a sharp look, frightening them into retreating and lowering their heads.

Satisfied, the beautiful woman sat beside Lu Yin and blew gently into his ear.

Lu Yin raised a hand, gripped the woman by the neck, and opened his eyes. "Try that again, and you're dead," he said coldly.

The beautiful woman's eyes turned icy, but she forced a flirtatious smile. "You're still as heartless as ever."

Lu Yin released her and stared coldly at her. "What is it?"

The woman rubbed her neck and rolled her eyes at Lu Yin. "You know you've made enemies, right?"

Lu Yin didn't answer.

The woman went on. "Zhang Tong and the others are plotting against you. There are more than ten of them, and you're alone. You can't handle them. Be careful."

"Thanks," Lu Yin said flatly.

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