I Burned Down the Entire Building, and I Began to Change

He rushed into the living room, and the sight before him made the blood drain from his face.

His once cozy home was now a complete mess.

The coffee table had been overturned, the television screen was shattered, and the sofa was covered in blood.

His father, the man who had once stood as stalwart as a mountain, lay in a pool of blood with a shard of broken glass lodged in his chest. His breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible.

"Dad!" Lu Chen roared and threw himself down beside his father, trying to staunch the blood from his chest with trembling hands.

"Cough, cough..." Father Lu coughed with difficulty, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He strained to lift a hand, wanting to touch Lu Chen's face, his voice as hoarse as a worn-out bellows. "Chen... Chen'er, you were born with a defect. You have to... live... live on..."

"Dad, I won't let you die! I won't!" Tears streamed uncontrollably down Lu Chen's face. He wiped the blood from his father's face at random, but the more he wiped, the dirtier his hands became and the more blood got on them.

Just then, a commotion came from outside.

"Is anyone there? Is anyone alive?" a slightly hoarse male voice called from downstairs.

Lu Chen jerked his head up and looked toward the voice. Several uniformed police officers were standing downstairs, led by a middle-aged officer whose face was marked by exhaustion and anxiety.

"We're the police. We're organizing an evacuation of the survivors. Please come down and gather as soon as possible!" Officer Old Zhang called up to the building, though his eyes darted about, as if he were deliberately avoiding something.

"The police?" A flicker of doubt crossed Lu Chen's mind.

The apocalypse had arrived. Shouldn't the police be maintaining order and protecting the people?

Why were their eyes darting around like that?

He looked down at his father, then back up at the police downstairs, torn with indecision.

"Chen'er... hurry... go..." Father Lu's voice grew fainter and fainter. He gripped Lu Chen's hand tightly and spoke with the last of his strength. "Don't... don't trust... anyone..."

With that, his hand fell limply, and his eyes slowly closed.

"Dad! Dad!" Lu Chen cried out in anguish, but he could no longer wake him.

He held his father's body, overcome with grief.

The anger and hatred in his heart erupted like a volcano.

"Ah-!" He threw his head back and howled, his voice piercing and desperate.

Downstairs, Officer Old Zhang's expression changed slightly when he heard Lu Chen's cry. He exchanged a look with several survivors beside him, signaling them to get ready.

Lu Chen slowly stood up and wiped away his tears, looking coldly at the police downstairs.

"Are you... here to save us?" he asked hoarsely.

"Of course! We're the people's police. Protecting the people is our duty!" Officer Old Zhang declared righteously, but he never dared meet Lu Chen's eyes.

"Is that so?" Lu Chen sneered. He had already seen through their hypocrisy.

In the face of the apocalypse, morality and the law had become worthless. Only self-interest was eternal.

He had no doubt that if he went with them, he would certainly be used as cannon fodder or sacrificed.

"I'm not going with you," Lu Chen said coldly.

"What did you say?" Officer Old Zhang's face instantly darkened. "Do you know what you're saying? There are zombies everywhere outside. You can't possibly survive on your own!"

"Then you needn't trouble yourself." With that, Lu Chen turned, picked up his father's body, and headed upstairs.

"You..." Officer Old Zhang wanted to say something more, but a survivor beside him stopped him.

"Brother Zhang, forget about him. People like him won't shed a tear until they see their own coffin," the man said sarcastically. "When the zombies have gnawed him down to nothing, he'll know what regret is."

Officer Old Zhang sighed, shook his head, and left with the others.

Carrying his father's body, Lu Chen made his way upstairs, one step at a time.

He knew he couldn't stay here long. He had to clear the zombies from the entire building as soon as possible to prevent his father from being attacked again.

He laid his father's body on the bed in the bedroom, then found a cleaver in the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door.

A putrid stench hung in the hallway. The walls were covered in blood and grime, and several mutilated corpses lay sprawled across the floor.

Lu Chen suppressed his nausea and carefully moved forward.

Following the smell, he searched floor by floor. Whenever he encountered a zombie, he swung his cleaver without hesitation.

The zombies were slow and no match for Lu Chen.

He dispatched them cleanly, one slash apiece, and soon cleared the zombies from an entire floor.

And whenever he killed a zombie,

As the number of zombies he killed grew, the flame energy inside Lu Chen grew stronger and stronger.

He felt like a god of flames, possessing the power to burn everything to ashes.

He killed his way up to the roof, leaving nothing alive in his wake.

The zombies that had once inspired fear were like ants before him, unable to withstand a single blow.

When he reached the stairwell on the top floor, he found a figure curled up in a corner, trembling.

It was a young woman in pajamas, her face filled with terror.

"Don't... don't kill me..." she said through tears. "I... I'm not a zombie..."

Holding his cleaver aloft, Lu Chen walked toward her one step at a time.

He had been consumed by bloodlust and could no longer tell who was human and who was a ghost.

"Please... spare me..." the woman begged desperately.

Lu Chen's gaze was cold and empty. Without the slightest hesitation, he swung his cleaver at her neck.

Blood sprayed out, staining the wall red.

The woman let out a piercing scream and fell into a pool of blood.

Lu Chen stood where he was, staring blankly at his hands. He didn't know whether what he had done was right or wrong.

He walked slowly to the edge of the roof and looked down over the entire residential complex.

The once familiar view had become unrecognizable.

Ruined walls stood amid fires burning everywhere, and the air was thick with the scent of death.

He watched the zombies wandering through the ruins and the people struggling to survive, without a shred of pity or sympathy in his heart.

He realized that this world no longer needed "kindness."

In this world where the weak were prey to the strong, only the strong could survive.

And he would become one of the strong in this world.

He would use his power to establish a new order, an order belonging to the strong.

He would make everyone submit at his feet and obey his commands.

He would become the ruler of this apocalyptic world.

A breeze stirred his hair as he stood on the roof, like an emperor reigning over the world.

His gaze was firm and confident, and his heart was full of ambition and desire.

Just then, a low growl came from downstairs. Auntie Wang was still not entirely dead and was crawling toward him, her body twisted.

Hearing that dying roar from downstairs, Lu Chen's lips curled into a cruel smile.

Auntie Wang?

Heh, she's surprisingly tenacious.

All the better. I'll use you to test the SSS-Rank Flame Manipulation I just got!

"Since you're so eager to experience cremation, I'll be merciful and grant your wish!" Lu Chen murmured, his gaze instantly turning sharp.

He slowly raised his hand, and a tiny flame appeared out of nowhere in his palm, flickering and radiating a terrifying heat.

Even the air seemed to catch fire, beginning to twist and warp.

A wave of heat hit Lu Chen in the face, making his cheeks sting and his hair start to smoke.

He took a deep breath and channeled a continuous stream of flame energy from his body into the flame in his palm.

The flame grew larger and brighter, eventually becoming a small fireball that radiated an aura of total destruction.

Lu Chen's gaze sharpened, and he hurled the fireball downstairs.

"Boom!"

With a tremendous roar, flames engulfed the entire building in an instant.

Tongues of fire licked wildly at the walls, devouring furniture and everything else that could burn.

Thick smoke billowed upward, blotting out the sun and staining the entire sky blood-red.

Standing on the roof, Lu Chen felt the scorching heat beneath his feet and the immense power of the flames. An indescribable thrill rose in his heart.

He felt as though he had become the master of flames, holding the fate of all living beings in his hands.

The entire building burned fiercely, crackling like a symphony of death.

Auntie Wang's piercing screams sounded so faint, so helpless as the flames consumed her.

Soon, everything fell quiet.

The entire building had been reduced to ashes, with only a few blackened pillars left, still weakly giving off smoke.

Lu Chen slowly withdrew his hand. The flame in his palm vanished, leaving only a charred patch.

He turned, walked over to his father's body, and gently picked him up.

"Dad, let's go," Lu Chen said softly, a trace of weariness and resignation in his voice.

He knew an even harder road lay ahead.

He carried his father on his back and made his way down from the roof, one step at a time.

The air was thick with an acrid burnt smell that made him cough.

He looked up into the distance,

"Medical resources... where are they...?"