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nChapter 15

nOn Wednesday, the fourth day of the Apocalypse Calendar, Leg Training Day.

nHe got out of bed and washed up. After confirming that there was no water, electricity, or gas outage, he began to enjoy his breakfast.

nA basin of noodles, three eggs, and a stack of small pickles.

nHis appetite was much bigger than before the apocalypse. Lu Ming estimated that it might have doubled.

n“But we have enough supplies for the time being.”

nAfter reading for a while, he went to the second floor and began his morning workout.

nAbout two hours later, today’s leg workout was finally over.

nLying on the exercise mat, Lu Ming panted and gasped for breath heavily, his legs feeling sore and weak, as if he were on the brink of death. However, his mental state was surprisingly good!

n“It’s essential to train legs in fitness; otherwise, it will catch up with you sooner or later.”

n“The importance of leg training is self-evident.”

n“When I was studying, I knew that leg training was a major undertaking, the most important and painful part of fitness… Now I kind of understand what’s going on.”

nWhen going downstairs, Lu Ming used his upper body strength to support and drag himself down the stairs.

nBracing himself, he made a cup of protein powder and rested for a long time before opening his personal information panel.

nName: Lu Ming.

nAge: 25 years old.

nStrength: 7.5 (8.2) ↑.

nPhysique: 7.9 (8.6) ↑.

nAgility: 8 (8.7) ↑.

nFitness Lv2 (50

/200).

nWith the increase in attributes and skill proficiency, everything was perfect.

nSeeing that it was only about 9:30, Lu Ming took out his slingshot again and began to practice his slingshot proficiency.

nDuring the battle yesterday afternoon, Lu Ming realized the benefits of a slingshot. It was quiet, had small ammunition, was easy to reload, and was very lethal.

nIt was more agile than bows and crossbows and had a wider range of applications.

n“Bang.”

nBullseye, proficiency 2.

n“Bang.”

nSixth ring, proficiency 1.

n“The logic behind the increase in proficiency of the Lv. 2 slingshot is the same as the increase in Lv. 1. Therefore, with my current training conditions, I can continue to improve this skill!”

nThe time before lunch was spent shooting slingshots.

nThis continued till his fingers went numb and his slingshot shooting proficiency successfully increased to Lv3!

nSlingshot Shooting Lv3 (0

/300): You have acquired the basic shooting technique of the slingshot. Agility increased by 0.6 ( 0.3) points.

nHe hit another bullseye, and his proficiency increased by 2 points.

nThis meant that the logic of increasing the proficiency of the slingshot remained unchanged!

nThere was no need to shoot from long distances or hit moving targets. He could become stronger by maintaining his current training intensity.

nLu Ming was very satisfied with this.

n…

nHe dragged his clumsy legs and made lunch.

nThree bowls of rice, a steamed bun, two pounds of boiled chicken breast, a portion of stir-fried vegetables, and half a portion of protein powder.

nHis appetite was indeed much greater than before.

nHe thought that it was normal.

nHis physical fitness had increased crazily, so his consumption would naturally increase. Coupled with his high-intensity exercise every day, it would be strange if he did not eat much.

nAfter watching the video for a while, Lu Ming went to bed to rest. His lunch break started at 12 noon and lasted until 1:30 p.m.

nOpening his eyes, he checked his attribute panel and obtained all the attributes in the brackets.

n“Another wonderful day!”

nThe joy of becoming stronger was the ultimate joy.

nLu Ming was very satisfied with his current life.

nJust as he was feeling happy, Lu Ming suddenly thought of the giant zombie he had seen yesterday and his mood plummeted.

nHe dragged his still clumsy legs to the second-floor reading area and opened the observation hole to look at the street.

nThere was no sign of the giant zombie.

nMoreover, the few living zombies that were blocking his door had all run away for some reason.

nIt had to be said that the existence of the giant corpse was like a stone pressing down on Lu Ming’s heart, making him feel unhappy.

nBut at the moment, Lu Ming really could not think of a good solution.

nAfter sensing no danger (at least not with the naked eye), Lu Ming stopped paying attention to the outside world. After resting for a while, he prepared to continue farming slingshot shooting proficiency and cold weapons combat proficiency.

n…

nLu Ming was in a bad mood.

nMeng Jie’s mood was even worse!

nShe was even more unhappy than Lu Ming.

nHer original plan was to go with Zhang Lixin and Wang Xiong to the shelter in the city center this morning.

nZhang Lixin was a soldier and was very strong and fierce.

nAnd Wang Xiong was an Awakened individual, stronger and fiercer!

nIn Meng Jie’s estimation, there was a 50% chance that this combination could safely send her and her research materials to the shelter.

nUnexpectedly, something went wrong early in the morning.

nIn Wang Xiong’s house, Wang Xiong and Zhang Lixin looked solemn as they looked at the zombies wandering outside the window.

nMeng Jie stood behind the two of them and asked softly, “How’s the situation?”

nWang Xiong shook his head. “Not good…”

nZhang Lixin added, “Judging from the situation, we won’t be able to leave the house today.”

nThis situation was a little strange.

nEverything was fine yesterday, but early this morning, Wang Xiong woke up to find about 10 zombies blocking the entrance of his house.

nThis situation alone was not strange.

nYesterday, there were few zombies in Good Hope Village because the zombies had been attracted by the military. However, as the survivors went out to find food and drink, there was a lot of commotion, and some of the zombies were lured back.

nIt was not surprising that there would be more zombies today than yesterday.

nThe strange thing was that these zombies seemed to have self-awareness. Even if there were noises not far away, they did not move. At most, there was a little commotion.

nThey seemed to have targeted Wang Xiong, Zhang Lixin, and Meng Jie and were unwilling to leave at all.

n“I’ll take a look.”

nMeng Jie squeezed past Wang Xiong and Zhang Lixin and leaned against the window to observe quietly.

nA moment later, Meng Jie frowned and left the window, looking troubled.

nWang Xiong immediately asked, “So, Dr. Meng, have you figured out what went wrong?”

nMeng Jie shook her head and then nodded. “The zombies outside seem normal. I didn’t notice anything unusual about them.”

nWang Xiong looked disappointed when Meng Jie continued, “But I have a hypothesis.”

n“The strange actions of these zombies may be due to orders of higher-level zombies.”

nAs soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xiong and Zhang Lixin were stunned.

n“Order from higher-level zombies?”

nMeng Jie nodded and said, “Yes.”

n“As I mentioned yesterday, theoretically speaking, Awakeners do have the potential for further advancement.”

n“But don’t forget that the Awakened are actually similar to that of zombies—both originated from the mystery factor infection in the tower. However, one is malignant, and the other is benign.”

n“This also means that if the Awakened have the potential for further advancement, then the zombies also have the possibility of evolving again. In fact, this possibility is very high.”

nMeng Jie spoke solemnly, but Wang Xiong and Zhang Lixin broke out in cold sweat.

nThe most ordinary zombies had the physical level of professional athletes—in terms of attributes, their strength and agility were about 6 points.

nAnd if the zombies could evolve again, how terrifying would that be?

nAt least, Zhang Lixin did not even dare to think about it.

nWang Xiong pinched his chin and muttered solemnly.

n“In other words, there’s a high chance that we’re targeted by high-level zombies?”

nMeng Jie nodded and contemplated.

n“In fact, I’m still considering another possibility.”

n“There’s something about the evolution of zombies and the Awakened, or their way to advance…”

nSpeaking of this, Wang Xiong immediately became interested.

n“What is the way?”

nMeng Jie said softly, “Let me make it clear first that everything I’m about to say is just speculation.”

n“My guess is that since the zombies and the Awakened are both infected by the mystery factor infection, will the method of advancement also lie in the mystery factor?”

n“For now, we’ll call the zombies ‘failed infections’, but research shows that even if the infection fails, the mystery factor will still be combined with the cells in the zombie’s body.”

n“And through a blood sample test of the Awakened, it was discovered that the cells in the body of the Awakened had also combined with the mystery factor.

n“If a zombie or an Awakened wants to advance, the greatest possibility is to increase the degree of integration of the mystery factor with the cells in the body. Or to put it another way, there’s a need to ingest more mystery factors…”

nAt this point, Meng Jie paused.

n“Hunting and plundering.”

nThen Meng Jie said nothing more.

nThere was no need for her to say anything else—the meaning was clear.

nWang Xiong looked at his hands in disbelief and couldn’t help but mutter, “So, I’ve become monk Tang Sanzang?”

n…

nOutside Wang Xiong’s house, directly opposite a street.

nA pair of pale eyes looked down at the other party through the window gap.

nThis was the giant zombie that Lu Ming had seen with his own eyes.

nFollowing its instincts, the giant zombie arrived and led its subordinates to surround Wang Xiong’s house.

nBecause it could feel it.

nThere was a feast in that house.

nA feast that was far more delicious and nutritious than ordinary people.

nBut it was in no hurry.

nThis was because a sumptuous meal corresponded to a difficult hunt.

nIt had a feeling that it and its dozens of lackeys might not be a match for that feast in the restricted environment.

nBut it didn’t matter.

nThe last thing it lacked was patience.

nIn just one night, the giant zombie had already worked out a set of hunting techniques.

nBesieged.

nThey waited for their prey to weaken or take the initiative to walk into the encirclement.

nThen a sneak attack.

n“Gulp. Gulp.” The sound came from his stomach.

nThis represented hunger.

nHowever, the giant zombie’s eyes became deeper.

nIt was like the calm before a storm.

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