The Rat Swarm

In his previous life, Chen Luo had mastered Void Walk at level nine and Dimensional Blade at King Rank.

That didn't mean he had to reach level nine to master Void Walk. It all depended on his comprehension. There were no NPC skill trainers to teach him skills.

Now, as long as he had enough energy in his body, Chen Luo could use Void Walk even at level one. But obviously, at level one, he couldn't possibly have enough power to sustain it.

Chen Luo estimated that he would have to reach level four before he could barely manage Void Walk, and even then, only over short distances-a hundred meters at most.

A single use would drain all his ability power.

Void Sword was an ability Chen Luo had mastered at level seven, condensing spatial power into a tangible form.

Void Sword was extraordinarily sharp. Even saying it cut through iron like butter didn't do it justice. It could cleave a target's body in half without spilling any blood.

The halves couldn't even be fitted back together, and healing was completely useless unless another powerful Space ability user intervened.

It was a formidable weapon Chen Luo used to kill, loot, and ambush his targets.

At his peak, the Void Sword Chen Luo conjured looked solid and could easily last half an hour.

Now, it was only a faint silhouette of light and lasted less than five seconds.

Utterly drained, Chen Luo smiled without taking it to heart. Being able to use it at all was good enough. He could already threaten enemies with exceptionally strong defenses.

Unable to absorb any more crystals, Chen Luo soon fell asleep after an exhausting day.

Dharma King not only had to work but also had to guard the house.

Dharma King's hearing and sense of smell were exceptionally keen. With him standing guard, he was more effective than any bodyguard.

He would deal with any trouble he could handle himself and alert Chen Luo to anything he couldn't.

With Dharma King around, Chen Luo could sleep soundly. Otherwise, life would have been exhausting, with him constantly on guard against uninvited guests.

Dharma King: I feel like I've shouldered far too much that shouldn't be my responsibility. A dog's life is exhausting.

The next morning, Chen Luo asked Su Dazhu and Dharma King how their crystal absorption had gone.

Su Dazhu said excitedly, "Bro, your method really works! I feel a lot stronger. Uh, I absorbed seven crystals."

Seven was already pretty good.

Dharma King barked nine times in a row, indicating that he had eaten nine.

Chen Luo chuckled. Good thing it wasn't ninety-nine, or you'd have to bark ninety-nine times.

Once I have some people working for me, maybe I should put you through nine years of compulsory education.

Su Dazhu marveled as he looked at Dharma King. This dog really was something else. He had been too hungry yesterday to pay much attention, and only today did he realize how extraordinary the dog was.

But you ate nine, and I only managed seven. What's that supposed to mean?

Today, they needed to go to the grain depot and collect all the rice and flour there.

After some thought, Chen Luo decided to take Su Dazhu along.

Clearly, though, Su Dazhu wasn't the sort to sit at home and enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor.

He might as well take Su Dazhu with him. They could watch each other's backs, and Su Dazhu could get some combat practice.

Chen Luo gave Su Dazhu the armor he had prepared for him, let him get used to it, and handed him two Stun Batons.

For someone as strong as Su Dazhu, the armor wasn't heavy. It was about like an ordinary person wearing winter clothes.

Chen Luo's strength had also noticeably increased a little after he became a Level Two Ability User, making his armor considerably easier to wear.

Once everything was ready, they set off.

It wasn't that there were no other survivors in the residential community, but apart from a few individuals, none would risk going outside unless they were desperate.

They were still watching the situation from their homes.

On his way out of the community, Chen Luo helped himself to the supplies in the supermarket within his villa complex.

When they reached the place where he had parked the heavy truck, Chen Luo smiled.

The truck was safe and sound. Those free guards really did their job.

With armor and Stun Batons now in hand, Su Dazhu was itching to act when he saw the zombies.

But Chen Luo stopped him. "They're all free labor. Just let Dharma King lure them away."

Dharma King expertly took them for a walk, easily leading all the zombies away.

Su Dazhu said glumly, "Why do I feel like Dharma King is more useful than I am?"

Chen Luo laughed and reassured him, "Don't compare yourself to a dog. There are things he can do that I can't either. Everyone has their strengths."

"He dares to eat shit. Do you?"

Once Dharma King climbed into the truck, Chen Luo drove toward the outskirts rather than heading straight for the grain depot.

They had to take a detour to reach the grain depot. Otherwise, they would have to pass through the city center. With thirty million people in the Divine Capital, wasn't that asking to die?

Spending a little extra time on a detour was well worth it.

Chen Luo drove along the familiar route. Before the apocalypse, he had specifically researched which routes led to the grain depot and how many there were.

He had also visited the area around the depot to scout it out.

Along the way, plenty of survivors tried to block the road and get aboard, just like that blond-haired guy earlier, but Chen Luo didn't slow down at all.

If you dare block me, I'll dare run you over.

The journey was just over a hundred kilometers, yet it took Chen Luo more than five hours to arrive.

The grain depot was a three-story building. It was fairly long, but not particularly large overall.

Even packed full of grain, it wouldn't hold much.

Beneath it, however, was an enormous basement containing an unknown quantity of grain.

The aboveground areas were merely offices.

Chen Luo drove the heavy truck straight into the grain depot. In such a spacious area, killing zombies with the truck couldn't have been easier.

Chen Luo kept driving in circles inside the depot, stopping only after he had killed nearly all the zombies there.

Throughout the process, Chen Luo didn't see any survivors.

If there were any, they would surely have called for help after hearing the commotion he was making.

Chen Luo narrowed his eyes. The grain depot had quite a few employees. Surely there should have been at least one survivor.

Chen Luo reached the passage inside the office building that led down to the basement. Its door wasn't closed; it stood wide open.

The passage was pitch-black. Chen Luo took out a flashlight and shone it inside. His pupils suddenly contracted when he saw a skeleton.

It was clearly a human's remains. All the flesh was gone, leaving only the bones.

Some kind of small mutated creature was inside the grain depot.

Was it ants or rats?

Ordinary zombies always left scraps of flesh behind when they fed on humans. They couldn't strip a body clean.

Only mutated creatures such as ants and rats would gnaw a body this clean.

They were weak, with little individual strength, but their numbers made up for it.

Chen Luo had seen enormous ant colonies numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Anyone who encountered them would have to run.

The skeleton's skull pointed toward Chen Luo, and its entire body had fallen in his direction.

He could infer that the person had discovered terrifying creatures while heading into the basement and hurriedly turned to flee, only to fail to escape.

Chen Luo immediately hesitated. If he encountered creatures in overwhelming numbers, he really couldn't guarantee he would make it out alive.

But if he didn't go down to collect the grain, he wouldn't be able to return for a long time.

Chen Luo gritted his teeth. He couldn't take the risk. It didn't matter if he went without the grain; staying alive came first.

"Squeak, squeak."

Chen Luo's expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he grabbed Su Dazhu and immediately ran.

That sound came from a rat swarm.