Chapter 3: Apocalypse

Chapter 3: Apocalypse

When she woke up, it was already 10 AM.

After getting enough sleep, Xiao Hua felt significantly lighter. The emptiness from yesterday, when her powers were drained, was now gone.

Uncertain if there were already infected people outside, Xiao Hua didn’t dare to wander around. Compared to the unknown dangers outside, staying holed up in the dormitory seemed safer.

Xiao Hua prepared to wait quietly for the zombies.

The afternoon campus was usually peaceful and beautiful.

"Bang!"

"Ah—!"

"Fuck! What the hell is that?!"

Suddenly, a commotion erupted downstairs, with screams and curses bombarding her eardrums.

Xiao Hua rushed to the balcony and saw a horrific scene: a few people in tattered clothes were gathered, apparently enjoying a feast. After a while, they turned stiffly, facing Xiao Hua.

Their eyeballs bulged, with the whites dominating their eyes. Their mouths stretched back to their ears. Their rotten lips couldn’t conceal their protruding fangs.

They still held blood-soaked human limbs, and intestines dangled from their mouths.

Even from a distance, the overpowering stench of blood hit her.

Xiao Hua immediately ran to the door, locked it tightly, and used a table to barricade it, ensuring the zombies couldn’t rush in.

She guzzled several large gulps of water, forcing herself to suppress the panic and nausea.

The zombies would soon reach the second floor, and she needed to stay calm.

Xiao Hua picked up the grappling hook she had bought yesterday, waiting quietly behind the door, ready to act.

Half an hour later.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The mechanical and violent banging on the door sounded like a death sentence, causing the door and the table to shake violently, as if they were about to fall apart.

The zombies were here.

Hiding behind the door, Xiao Hua's expression was as cold as calmness itself, her mind racing, thinking of the next move.

Since awakening her powers, her senses had become sharper. She sensed that only one zombie was outside, and it wouldn’t be able to break in right away.

However, the zombie continued to bang persistently, probably because its sensitive sense of smell confirmed someone was inside.

If it continued like this, it might attract other zombies, and that would put her in a real dilemma.

Having made up her mind, Xiao Hua wrapped the rope around her wrist, gripped the grappling hook, and injected some energy into it.

Then, she carefully moved the table aside a little and half-opened the door lock.

Ten seconds later, the door lock was smashed, and the zombie pushed the door open, wobbling inside. Xiao Hua acted swiftly, closing the door and pushing the table, trapping half of the zombie’s body inside.

Then, without hesitation, she swung the hook, driving it into the zombie's head.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

With a critical area hit, the zombie immediately became agitated and violent, its several centimeters long gray-green claws flailing around, trying to attack Xiao Hua.

The zombie's face was terrifying, its exposed skin an eerie gray-green. It was still wearing a security uniform, and its massive 1.9-meter-tall frame was like a small mountain.

In close proximity, Xiao Hua could clearly smell the zombie's bloody stench mixed with its putrid odor, which was truly nauseating.

But Xiao Hua didn't have time to be squeamish. The zombie's strength was horrifying, almost dragging her away.

She struggled to maintain her stance, dodging the zombie's claws as much as possible, pouring energy into the hook and then pulling with all her might.

"Crack!"

The zombie's head finally fell off, rolling into the dormitory, spattering brain matter and blood everywhere, splashing onto Xiao Hua's face.

Xiao Hua: “……”

Damn, I feel like throwing up.

Fighting back her nausea, Xiao Hua quickly put on gloves, dragged the zombie's body into the dormitory, erased any traces, and closed the door, once again barricading the door with a desk.

Still unsatisfied, she stacked the water dispenser and stool on top of the table, determined to make it impossible for the zombie to break in again.

Xiao Hua leaned on the table, panting heavily, unable to speak, her mind flooded with barrages of thoughts:

Oh my God!!!

How is this zombie so strong?!

Didn't they say early-stage zombies were weak?!

What am I supposed to do now?!

Xiao Hua then looked at the zombie's head in the dormitory.

Its gray-green skin had protruding eye sockets, with its eyes completely white. Its nose had been corroded away, and its mouth was stretched wide, revealing large, sharp teeth, making it impossible to tell its gender.

It was as eerie and terrifying as what she had seen before.

Fortunately, Xiao Hua had a strong heart. After her recent 'close encounter' with the zombie, she even found this horrible sight a little cute.

Xiao Hua crouched down and stabbed the hook into the zombie's head, stirring it around.

Finally, she pulled out a crystal-clear object, with light flowing inside, like a galaxy of stars, contrasting sharply with the zombie's filthy exterior.

A crystal nucleus.

The book states that at the beginning of the apocalypse, most zombies hadn't formed nuclei yet, and only a few had them.

Zombies with crystal nuclei can be considered true zombies, and they were much stronger than those without.

Realizing this, Xiao Hua: “……”

What terrible luck.

However, in the original story, the protagonist's team didn't stumble upon the use of the crystal nuclei until the third day of the apocalypse, and it took the Human Academy of Sciences half a month to verify it.

Thinking about this, Xiao Hua felt a great sense of relief. She simply used her powers to rinse the crystal core, then sat cross-legged and began to absorb it.

Improving her strength and surviving were the most important things.

Xiao Hua: “As long as I'm strong enough, the zombies won't be able to kill me.”

It was her first time absorbing a crystal core, and Xiao Hua wasn't aware of any methods or techniques. She could only follow what was mentioned in the book, allowing the energy to flow through her body.

Perhaps it was just the way this world was set up. Xiao Hua's exploration went without any mishaps, and she smoothly absorbed the crystal core.

When she opened her eyes again, the crystal core in Xiao Hua's hand had turned into crushed fragments, and the nearly depleted energy in her body was replenished once more, doubling in amount compared to before.

Xiao Hua gathered energy in her palm again and was surprised to form an ice crystal the size of chopsticks.

Xiao Hua: ‘???’

Xiao Hua: ‘!!!’

She clearly remembered that in the original story, water and ice abilities were two different powers. Unless one was strong enough, it was difficult to convert between the two.

Wait, the female supporting character in the original story was lamented by the author for having wasted her powers due to a lack of ambition.

So, the female supporting character wasn't just an ordinary water ability user but a genius with both water and ice abilities.

Xiao Hua: ‘……’

Thinking about how the female supporting character had died under the claws of a mere level two zombie, Xiao Hua couldn't help but feel helpless.

With such strong talent, wouldn't it be great to be a female version of Long Ao Tian?

Moreover, no one else knew about the existence of the crystal cores yet, and the zombies were relatively weak. She could seize the opportunity to grow stronger quickly.

Coming back to her senses from the surprise of absorbing the crystal core and realizing she was a genius, Xiao Hua finally noticed the sticky feeling on her face and the specks of milky white brain matter on her jacket.

Xiao Hua: ‘……’

Damn it.

Xiao Hua immediately rushed into the bathroom and took another shower while there was still water and electricity, cleaning her jacket as well.

After finishing up, Xiao Hua checked her phone: 14:28.

Now that the world was in chaos, no one would be guarding the school gate; and with the zombies still relatively few in the early days of the apocalypse, it was the perfect time to make a break for it.

Xiao Hua put on her backpack, grabbed the hook, and finally opened the dormitory door.

The entire sky was dark and ominous, with clouds swirling ominously and a faint, eerie red glow, accompanied by the sounds of blood and screams, making it hard to breathe.

The apocalypse had arrived.

As Xiao Hua walked out of the dormitory, she encountered another zombie just by going from the second floor to the first. The zombie was still holding and munching on bloody limbs.

Seeing Xiao Hua, the zombie immediately dropped its “food” and rushed towards her with claws raised.

Taking advantage of its sluggish movements, Xiao Hua quickly threw her hook, catching the zombie's neck, and pulled hard.

An ugly head tumbled to her feet.

Xiao Hua searched through the zombie's head again, and as expected, there was no crystal core this time.