A hero to the rescue

Rice was very important to Mi Li. For Rice's sake, Mi Li had actually dared to risk snatching the cat from Chen Luo.

If not for Rice, Mi Li would never have fallen into Chen Luo's trap so easily.

With Rice firmly in his grasp, Mi Li would have a hard time leaving even if she wanted to.

And if Mi Li stayed, heh, Mi Ling wasn't going anywhere either.

Besides, Chen Luo really liked this cat. Rice wasn't just gorgeous, clever, and lovable; the cat's ability was also very unusual.

Chen Luo had realized that Rice's awakened ability probably wasn't as simple as a mental-type power.

An ability as unusual as telepathic communication couldn't possibly be something a mental-type user could master at the early stages.

At least, Chen Luo had never seen it.

He couldn't figure out why Rice had mastered telepathic communication immediately upon awakening. This really was a first for him.

How could he not keep such a rare cat firmly in his hands?

This was one greedy little cat. Others might struggle to win Rice over, but wouldn't it be a breeze for Chen Luo?

Sure enough, Rice's eyes sparkled at the mention of braised fish.

"Yes, yes! But I haven't had dried fish in ages, and I'm hungry. Let me have a little something first to tide me over."

With a smile, Chen Luo opened the packet of grilled fish slices for Rice.

Meanwhile, Mi Li hurried to pack supplies, prioritizing high-calorie foods such as candy and chocolate. At a time like this, she no longer cared whether eating them would make her gain weight.

Looking at the rows of drinks, Mi Li thought for a moment before choosing bottled water. The other drinks were too sweet to quench her thirst; the more she drank, the thirstier she would get.

Suddenly, an abnormally obese figure appeared, but the shelves blocked Mi Li's view, preventing her from spotting it right away.

The obese figure also stepped lightly, trying to make as little noise as possible.

As luck would have it, when the bloated figure came down from the third floor, Dharma King had gone to patrol the other side and hadn't spotted it in time.

Even so, Dharma King was the first to notice the unusual figure.

"Woof, woof!"

Dharma King barked an urgent warning and raced toward Mi Li.

Only after Dharma King's warning did Mi Li, who had her back to the obese figure, notice the uninvited visitor.

One look at its face frightened her so badly that she turned deathly pale.

The figure stood just over two meters tall. Its entire body resembled a huge ball of flesh, with its legs and neck barely visible.

An abnormally swollen belly occupied most of its body.

Its skin looked like boiled pig intestines, covered in wrinkles and a horrifying shade of pale pink.

Zombies were already somewhat frightening to look at, but next to this obese figure, they could practically be called cute.

Anyone seeing such a terrifying face for the first time would be stunned.

Mi Li tried to run, only to trip over the two large bags of food she had packed.

Dharma King had sounded the warning and was rushing over, but Chen Luo arrived even faster.

That was because Rice had actually warned him.

Rice, who had been eating dried fish, suddenly stopped and spoke to Chen Luo as he stroked the cat.

"I feel like Mi Li is in danger."

But Rice couldn't say where the danger was coming from.

Of course Chen Luo took it seriously. If he didn't know where the danger was coming from, he would go find Mi Li.

The obese zombie actually let out a sinister chuckle and said, "Hungry. So hungry. Let me eat you."

Mi Li stumbled to her feet and, without hesitation, hurled the two large bags of food she had painstakingly packed at the obese zombie, then turned and ran.

She had barely started running when, still shaken, she collided with Chen Luo as he arrived.

Chen Luo's pupils contracted at the sight of the obese zombie, but he spoke calmly to Mi Li.

"Stay behind me. Don't be afraid. I'm here."

The terrifying obese zombie was right in front of them, yet after hearing Chen Luo's words, Mi Li somehow felt her wildly pounding heart begin to settle, almost miraculously.

Mi Li stared blankly at the shoulders shielding her. They weren't particularly broad, yet they gave her an inexplicable sense of security.

Chen Luo hadn't expected to encounter another Mutant here.

The odds were about one in ten thousand. Having killed so many zombies, it wasn't that surprising to encounter another one.

Once zombies reached level one, they gained a tiny bit of intelligence. The higher their level, the more intelligent they became.

Chen Luo suspected there was some kind of virus inside the zombies that continually evolved and began taking control of them.

The obese zombie before him hadn't been uncommon in his previous life. People called it a Devourer.

Its stomach was practically a bottomless pit, and it could eat and defecate at the same time.

What a lovely sight that was.

The Devourer before him hadn't been eating nonstop, so Chen Luo was fairly lucky: he hadn't caught the nauseating stench of its excrement.

Among creatures of the same level, Devourers were extremely difficult to deal with. They were strong, had tough defenses, could launch body-slamming charges, and could self-destruct at will.

Just imagining the explosion of a belly full of blood and flesh was enough to turn his stomach.

Judging by its size, Chen Luo figured it was a level-three zombie. That wasn't particularly high, but it was the same level as him.

For any other level-three ability user, or for Chen Luo without the skills he had mastered in his previous life, this Devourer would have been extremely troublesome, even at the same level.

But now, it would take just one slash.

A Void Sword slowly formed in Chen Luo's hand. Just then, Dharma King arrived and unleashed the newly mastered Lightning Ball at the Devourer's back.

Lightning Ball dealt plenty of damage to ordinary zombies, but it also consumed a lot of energy. Electric Arc was a better choice against them.

Still, its high single-target damage made it somewhat useful against the obese zombie.

The Lightning Ball exploded against the Devourer's back, injuring it, but the wound was nowhere near serious by the Devourer's standards.

Dharma King was level two, while the Devourer was level three, and defense was the Devourer's specialty.

The Devourer turned and roared furiously at Dharma King. Chen Luo seized the opening and slashed at it with his Void Sword.

Some could withstand Chen Luo's not-quite-solid Void Sword, but this level-three Devourer certainly wasn't among them.

Like a tree cut through by a chainsaw, the Devourer was cleaved in two.

It never got a chance to self-destruct before dying in two severed halves.

Chen Luo turned and covered Mi Li's eyes, saying softly, "Don't look. Its corpse is disgusting."

His voice seemed almost hypnotic, making Mi Li close her eyes involuntarily.

At that moment, Mi Li's mind was filled with the instant Chen Luo had swung his Void Sword.

That was just... so cool.

How could he be so cool?

He killed that terrifying monster with a single slash.

Mi Li let Chen Luo hold her hand and help her over to another spot.

When she opened her eyes, she couldn't help looking at him.

Earlier, Chen Luo had been covered in blood and grime from fighting zombies, so Mi Li hadn't thought him particularly handsome. Now, she suddenly realized just how handsome her big brother Chen Luo was.

Chen Luo looked at Mi Li too, and her face inexplicably flushed.

Chen Luo was astonished. Holy crap. I never expected this Devourer's appearance to help me out so much.

Playing the hero and saving a damsel in distress might have been terribly clichéd, but it really worked.