Gaining Lifespan

Outside, the sun was shining brightly as Lu Chengchuan strolled slowly down the street.

Since that strange illness, he had rarely had the chance to bask in the sun; he had spent most of his time in the hospital receiving treatment.

Seeing the flow of people and traffic after so long, the gloom in Lu Chengchuan's heart dissipated slightly. However, the pressure of survival would not disappear because of these pleasant things.

The System only told him that he could increase his strength by consuming his lifespan, but it didn't tell him how to obtain more lifespan. He didn't dare to use his remaining thirty-odd days of life easily.

Just as Lu Chengchuan was at a loss, a commotion suddenly broke out in the plaza not far ahead, with people screaming and running in all directions.

"Monsters! There are monsters!"

The crowd shouted as they scattered. Lu Chengchuan walked forward, and the throng parted, revealing several people lying on the ground, their necks being torn at by several pale-skinned figures.

Those who were bitten struggled for a while before dying completely.

After killing them, the monsters immediately got up and chased after the others. One of the monsters fixed its gaze on Lu Chengchuan.

A gaunt, stiff, gray face came into view. The monster was about the same size as a human, the only differences being its lifeless skin and protruding fangs.

"A zombie?"

This monster looked a lot like the zombies in movies, but did zombies really exist in this world?

He didn't believe in the existence of zombies, but considering that he himself possessed a System, Lu Chengchuan felt that the existence of zombies wasn't impossible.

The zombie leaped toward him, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

Lu Chengchuan wasn't afraid of it. He raised his hands in a grabbing posture, having obtained two martial arts skills from the beginner's gift pack.

The Eagle Claw Iron Body Skill was a type of horizontal training martial art. Once mastered, the practitioner would be as if clad in a layer of iron armor, impervious to blades and spears. Their arms would possess the strength of a thousand pounds, and their hands would be so tough that they could rival swords and sabers forged from refined steel.

As the zombie jumped in front of him, Lu Chengchuan grabbed its arms. He gripped hard, his fingers digging into the zombie's flesh, and then he tore away a large chunk of flesh from its arm.

Lu Chengchuan dropped the dry, hard piece of meat and grabbed the zombie again.

The zombie's body was very hard; ordinary swords and sabers would probably have difficulty harming it. However, before Lu Chengchuan's 'Eagle Claws,' the zombie had no power to resist.

He grabbed the zombie's throat and tore it open in one swift motion.

With its throat torn open, a mouthful of foul air escaped from the zombie's throat. Lu Chengchuan stepped back, and the zombie struggled in place for about ten seconds. Once the foul air had completely dissipated, the zombie collapsed to the ground.

[Killed a low-level zombie, gained 7 days of life.]

The System's voice suddenly rang out, bringing Lu Chengchuan the news he needed most.

Killing zombies could actually grant him lifespan, seven days for one zombie. Lu Chengchuan looked at the remaining three zombies. These weren't hideous monsters; they were his lifelines.

Lu Chengchuan no longer dawdled. He quickened his pace, rushing toward the zombies, afraid that someone else would snatch them away.

Running a few steps behind a zombie, Lu Chengchuan reached out, grabbed it, and slammed it heavily to the ground. Then, as before, he repeated the process, tearing open the zombie's throat.

With the strength of a thousand pounds suppressing the struggling zombie, it died completely after a dozen seconds.

Lu Chengchuan released the zombie and turned his gaze to another one.

People in the plaza were running in all directions. A large crowd poured into the roads, and the wide six-lane road was blocked by fleeing people. Many cars were forced to stop, and some even rear-ended each other.

The people in the cars didn't know what was happening. They only heard screams and shouts, which made them afraid as well.

Lu Chengchuan ignored all of this. He ran as fast as he could to the third zombie. The zombie was leaping toward two girls who had been knocked to the ground, its gray, hard nails reaching out. The two girls screamed. Suddenly, one of them saw a pair of large hands appear on the zombie's shoulders, and then the zombie was thrown to the ground.

A tall man, wearing a mask that obscured his face.

He slammed the terrifying monster to the ground, then stepped on it and quickly tore off its neck. The terrifying monster struggled for a dozen seconds before dying completely.

After killing the monster, the man ran toward another one.

Just as Lu Chengchuan was about to kill the last zombie, the sound of sirens rang out. A police car stopped two hundred meters away, and several police officers got out and ran quickly into the plaza.

Seeing the police arrive, Lu Chengchuan gave up on the last zombie and turned to run into the crowd.

He didn't want to be exposed. In the age of big data, it was too easy to investigate someone. Yesterday, he was still critically ill in the hospital, and today he was killing zombies on the street. Who would believe that?

Lu Chengchuan blended into the crowd. The remaining zombie was still chasing people and biting them.

The police officers ran up and saw the jumping zombie in the plaza. Their expressions changed.

Meanwhile, Lu Chengchuan ran into the middle of the crowd. He suddenly remembered his mother, who had gone out to look for work. He was afraid that she would encounter zombies, so he quickly took out his phone to call her.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

The phone rang a few times and was quickly answered.

"Xiaochuan, what's wrong?"

As soon as the call connected, his mother hurriedly asked what was wrong. Lu Chengchuan asked in return, "Mom, I'm fine. Has anything strange happened on your side?"

Lu Chengchuan's tone was urgent, lacking his usual weakness.

Hearing that something might have happened, Huang Yuyun didn't pay much attention and hurriedly asked, "Has something happened at home?"

"I saw someone post online that there are monsters at Star Prosperity Plaza, and several people have been bitten to death. Be careful. Where are you? Are you really okay?" Lu Chengchuan was very anxious, afraid that something would happen to her.

Now that he had found a way to gain lifespan, his life had been rekindled with hope, and he didn't want anything to happen to his mother.

"Nothing's happening on my side." Huang Yuyun looked around. Everything was calm, and there were no monsters like her son said.

"Be careful. Never mind, come back quickly and check the news at home first." Lu Chengchuan thought for a moment and decided to tell his mother to come back first.

Something's not right. Monsters are suddenly appearing; this has never happened before.

As he was calling, the police pulled out their handguns and started firing at the zombies chasing people.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunshots added to the already chaotic scene, and the people around, hearing the gunfire, ran even faster.

The bullets hit the zombies, but only created small holes. Foul air leaked out of the holes, but slowly, and the zombies were unaffected.

"What's going on?"

"Captain, what the hell are these things?!"

Several young officers asked the old captain what these things were; they had never seen anything like it.

Not to mention them, the old captain himself didn't know. He had been a police officer for over twenty years and had encountered all sorts of cases, but these monsters in front of him were beyond his comprehension.

"Fire! Kill them first!" the old captain said in a deep voice.

Their weapons weren't very powerful. Before coming, they thought it was just some troublemakers causing chaos, but they didn't expect it to be monsters. What was even more puzzling was that he also saw three monster corpses.

Who killed them, and how?