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All three dogs had their carotid arteries slashed. They were knocked aside by the attack, but quickly scrambled back up, eyes locked on Su Xiao. Their bodies crouched low, fangs dripping bloody saliva, white irises glowing with a sinister gleam.
This time, Su Xiao gripped the axe and took the initiative.
With wild force, she hacked repeatedly at the most severely injured one, chopping it into pieces before it finally vanished, turning into a black treasure chest. Only then did she turn to face the other two that were lunging at her.
【Infection Level: 6%】
【Infection Level: 7%】
…
It seemed the infection level increased with every attack, but Su Xiao had no time to care.
Either they died today, or she did!
She rolled to pin one under her, ignoring the other gnawing at her body, and brought the axe crashing down with all her strength.
After a brutal struggle, Su Xiao finally finished off the last zombie dog—her infection level had risen to 18%.
Three black treasure chests lay on the ground, while Su Xiao herself was covered in wounds, her body on the verge of collapse.
She lay on the floor, gasping for air. After a few dozen seconds, she forced herself up and collected the chests.
Just then, she heard a rustling behind her.
Immediately alert, she raised her flashlight and turned. Her pupils contracted—
Four “people” stood behind her, clothed in tattered rags, faces pale, pupils dull and gray.
“Fuck—”
Su Xiao swore instinctively, then swiftly backed away and ran toward the cellar entrance, pain shooting through her limbs.
The four “people” were even faster than the dogs.
Luckily, Su Xiao was closer to the entrance. She managed to duck into the safehouse just before they caught up.
The cellar still had a small desk lamp with a battery that she had installed earlier, but the light was dim.
Su Xiao was drenched in blood—she didn’t need a mirror to know how terrible she looked.
She stripped off her clothes to check her wounds. Her arms and legs were cut and scraped—not deep, but bleeding. Combined with all the rolling on the ground, she looked filthy.
She twisted open a bottle of purified water and washed the wounds as best she could.
After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Xiao Mo, are there any medical supplies among the natural resources I picked up?”
She remembered there were some—not much, but she had taken a few.
Xiao Mo: “Please wait, sorting the items now.”
The neatly arranged materials began to shift. Under Xiao Mo’s guidance, a box of band-aids, a pack of iodine swabs, and a container of medical alcohol were pushed in front of Su Xiao. Fortunately, none of the supplies were expired.
Xiao Mo: “Are these the items you were looking for?”
“Yes, thank you,” Su Xiao replied out of habit.
Xiao Mo: “You’re welcome. I’m honored to assist you. However, I must remind you—natural resources cannot remove special effects caused by the Apocalypse Game.”
Su Xiao paused, then realized—it must be referring to the infection level.
“That’s fine. By the way, Xiao Mo, can you help me find the clothing items from the textile materials?”
She remembered.
While in the underground warehouse, she had seen a bundle of T-shirts with a supermarket logo. Since she had no spare clothes, she grabbed it without thinking.
Xiao Mo: “Understood.”
Soon, Xiao Mo found the bundle—ten shirts in total.
But she hadn’t noticed earlier—they were all XL size. When she put one on, it hung loosely on her. It was a bit cumbersome to move in, so she grabbed the excess fabric at her back and tied it in a knot.
The wounds still ached faintly.
Su Xiao felt drained. She didn’t want anything vegetarian—she wanted something hot.
She had Xiao Mo pull out a disposable gas stove. The fuel came in small aluminum canisters—just swap them out and the stove could be lit. She also found a small ceramic pot, filled it with water, and started boiling noodles.
These items had no expiration, especially the gas stove and consumables—she had taken a lot of them.
While waiting for the water to boil, her thoughts wandered.
She hadn’t expected this strange Apocalypse Game to include zombies.
But something felt odd.
First came one “cat,” then two “rats,” then three “dogs,” and now four “people.”
It was like clearing stages by numbers.
Could it be… the first to finish them gets a reward?
Once the idea struck, Su Xiao had an impulse to rush out and hack those four “people” to pieces.
But no—she couldn’t.
The cat was the easiest. One swing and it was gone.
The rats had firmer bodies and were faster than the cat.
The dogs were stronger than the rats—it took several hits to kill each one.
Going by that pattern, the four “people” were definitely tougher than the dogs. Su Xiao’s infection level was already at 18%, her weapon was still low-grade, and she was in rough shape—her strength just wasn’t enough.
While the water boiled, she opened five black treasure chests.
Iron Ingots ×4, Wood Planks ×2, Plastic ×2, Fabric ×2.
She had enough iron, but still needed six more wood planks!
When the water boiled, Su Xiao dropped the instant noodles in and opened the communication center—
A flood of messages popped up, all from Turtle Hermit.
Turtle Hermit: “What the hell’s out there? Did you see it? I fought one wave and another came. What are those last four? Zombies?”
Turtle Hermit: “I’m at 15% infection now, no way I’m going back out. This game really dropped those ‘Little Cuties,’ huh?”
Turtle Hermit: “Opened a black chest—just materials, LOL. I tried to trade in the hub, looking for people who got a treasure chest easter egg, but turns out no one even knows what it is.”
Turtle Hermit: “You’ve been silent for ages—don’t tell me you’re dead. Wait, your account’s still active, so you’re alive? Did you actually kill those four freaks?”
After finishing her noodles, Su Xiao turned off the gas stove to conserve fuel.
Then she slowly typed a reply: “Still alive. Eating noodles. Send me your black chests—I’ll open them.”
Three seconds later, Turtle Hermit responded: “Noodles? Like, instant noodles?”
Then he realized he’d gone off-topic: “Wait, did you get a black chest easter egg?!”
Su Xiao: “Mm.”
Turtle Hermit: “How were you that fast?! Weren’t you asking me for weapons at 8?”
Su Xiao didn’t bother explaining.
She had gone out, killed a “Little Cutie,” then returned to the safehouse to trade for weapons.
The next moment, Turtle Hermit sent her five black treasure chests, surprising Su Xiao. He wasn’t even afraid she might scam him.
Of course, that’s not what Turtle Hermit was thinking.
Su Xiao had already gotten the white chest easter egg—double food resources. That made her a powerful ally.
Besides, the black chests were just raw materials. He didn’t have blueprints anyway, so the items were useless to him. Helping Su Xiao craft a weapons station was more important.
After sending the chests, Turtle Hermit kept asking: “You’re seriously eating instant noodles? Dry? Braised beef flavor?”
Su Xiao understood.
This guy just didn’t want to eat sweets.
All the food she’d given him earlier was stuff like small pastries and cakes.
So Su Xiao replied, “No. I have a disposable gas stove, a ceramic pot, and chopsticks. I can cook noodles. These daily-use consumables don’t expire or have any special effects, but they work.”
Turtle Hermit: “Righteous Parent! Your child bows before you!”