Chapter 36: The Mall of the Undead

After seeing Li Fenghua off, I arrived at the entrance of the mall.

Peering through the grimy glass doors, I saw a multitude of zombies waving at me, as if in greeting.

A smile touched my lips as I pressed my right hand against the glass door, mirroring the hand of a zombie on the other side.

A decade spent in the apocalypse left me feeling disoriented, even now.

Especially upon encountering zombies and familiar faces once more, the time before and after my rebirth seemed to overlap, blurring the line between what was real.

‘Perhaps this is all just a dream…’

No, that’s wrong! Everything I’d experienced today screamed that this couldn’t be a dream!

Dreams held no scent.

Yet, even through the glass, the putrid stench of the zombies clearly assailed my nostrils, an unceasing assault.

And then…

As my consciousness stirred, the palm of my right hand, still pressed against the door, grew faintly warm. Immediately, the glass entrance was seared scorching hot by my flame ability.

When I lowered my hand, a small, charred mark remained where it had rested.

It was the imprint of my flame ability.

Even my newly awakened ability served as a stark reminder that I was, indeed, in the world after my rebirth.

Hesitation vanished. I delivered a powerful kick to the glass door.

With a resounding crash, the glass panel shattered into countless shards, scattering across the ground.

Simultaneously, hordes of zombies surged from behind the now-broken entrance. Their frenzied appearance was akin to starving beasts, beholding a tempting slab of fragrant meat laid before them.

Driven by insatiable hunger, they lunged towards me.

Hmph. I was waiting for you.

I held my blade horizontally across my chest. As the zombies charged, I took a strategic step back, then raised my weapon and cleaved open the heads of an entire row of them.

Instantly, gore splattered everywhere, and only then did the true sensation of the apocalypse settle upon me.

My blade never ceased its dance. With so many zombies pressing in, many were sent flying with a swift kick of my leg before they could even draw close.

Every part of my body became a weapon. My blade cleaved through zombies, my fists crushed them, my feet sent them sprawling. I used every conceivable method, employing anything and everything to eradicate the zombies before me!

However, the sheer number of zombies in this mall was overwhelming. Maintaining such intense focus only accelerated my physical exhaustion!

This wouldn’t do. I needed to finish this quickly.

With that thought, I gritted my teeth. Instead of continuing the fight, I turned and sprinted wildly into the distance.

I rapidly covered a hundred meters.

Behind me trailed a long procession of zombies, as if I were leading a grotesque tour group. Even more zombies poured out of the mall, relentlessly pursuing me.

How many people would a single mall hold? The number could only be immense, certainly not small!

With such a multitude of zombies, if I continued to block the entrance and fight, I would undoubtedly be exhausted to death!

Thus, it was time for my new ability to make its debut!

Aside from being crushed by brute force, a core’s outer shell was impervious to methods like water, fire, poison, or ice.

Consequently, compared to perishable food or heavy, cumbersome weapons, cores became the sole circulating currency of the apocalypse.

Once I’d covered sufficient ground, I abruptly halted.

Spinning around, I saw hordes of zombies still trailing behind me, maintaining a distance of over ten meters.

This distance wasn’t enough!

Re-sheathing my blade at my waist, I stood rooted to the spot, a thrill of anticipation stirring within me as I waited for the zombies to close in.

Only when they were a mere two or three meters away did I deem the distance acceptable.

My eyes fixed on their grotesque forms, my nose assaulted by their putrid stench, I smiled faintly and extended my right hand.

A blazing orb of fire instantly materialized in my palm, then, guided by my will, swiftly split into hundreds of smaller flames.

Centering on my outstretched palm, the hundreds of small flames swirled, gradually taking shape.

At my command, the miniature infernos soared into the air, hurtling towards the zombies.

One small flame, leading the charge, landed on the head of the foremost zombie. With barely a pause, it ignited the creature’s entire body.

The burning zombie shrieked in agony, yet the flames consumed it even faster.

It was as if it had been doused in gasoline; the inferno raged unchecked.

In a remarkably short time, the charred zombie collapsed to the ground, utterly still, dissolving into a pile of black ash.

Amidst the ash, a single core lay silently, reflecting the sunlight with a blinding gleam.

Good fortune smiled upon me; a core appeared after killing just one zombie.

However, while the zombie was incinerated, the small flame had also expended itself in the process.

Still, with my current energy reserves, I could unleash this ability two to three more times.

At this rate, I could eradicate every single zombie before me!