Chapter 19: The Goal—Stockpiling Supplies

Ye Feng felt quite content.

He exhaled a cloud of smoke and turned to look at Lin Xiaoxiao, who was in his arms.

"Xiaoxiao," he said, "things are looking increasingly grim out there. I’ve decided to head out today to gather some useful supplies for the both of us."

Hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao’s slender body trembled. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she spoke with a tone of anxiety, "Ah! Ye Feng, please don’t go out, okay? The world outside is crawling with zombies—it’s just too dangerous!"

She had finally found a glimmer of hope for survival, and she was terrified of losing it.

"No," Ye Feng refused firmly.

Lin Xiaoxiao rushed over, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist from behind, her voice trembling. "Ye Feng, don't leave me! Please?"

Ye Feng smiled slightly, stroking her soft hair. "It’s fine, I know what I’m doing. Trust me, I’m much stronger than you think. While the supplies haven't rotted or spoiled yet, I need to collect as much as I can for the future. Staying locked up in this house forever is simply not an option."

"But..." Lin Xiaoxiao hesitated, "it’s so dangerous out there..."

Ye Feng waved a hand, continuing, "Fighting outside is inevitable; no one can escape it. You need to adapt! Eventually, you might have to go out and fight, too! My mind is made up."

Lin Xiaoxiao pouted and stayed silent.

Ye Feng’s expression darkened. He gave her a sharp swat on her bottom and feigned anger, saying, "Be obedient!"

Seeing that Ye Feng was annoyed, Lin Xiaoxiao bit her lower lip and whispered, "Alright then... Brother Feng. But you must be careful... If anything happens to you, I won't want to live anymore either!"

Ye Feng nodded and cautioned her, "Don’t worry, I won't have any trouble. As for you... after I leave, don’t open the door for anyone, understand?"

"Mm-hmm, I understand," Lin Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously.

Ye Feng took some food out of his storage space—bread, instant noodles, milk—enough to last one person about twenty days.

"I might not be back today. Just in case, this is your ration. I'm leaving!"

Ye Feng stubbed out his cigarette and opened the door to leave.

"Brother Ye Feng, I’ll be here at home waiting for you!" Lin Xiaoxiao called out.

Ye Feng didn't look back, merely waving a hand to show he had heard.

...

In the hallway, Ye Feng walked with a light step.

In the apocalypse, two things are paramount: first, strength. Only with great strength does one have the capital to withstand any change. Second, supplies. Only with vast amounts of resources can one survive and live freely in this end-of-the-world scenario.

Ye Feng’s goal for this trip was to hoard supplies.

As he moved, two zombies lunged at him. Ye Feng found them vaguely familiar. A moment of thought, and he realized with a start: these were the two zombies he had taught a lesson just yesterday.

"A bunch of idiots, they never learn their lesson! But then again, they are just zombies."

Only high-level mutated zombies possessed intelligence. Ye Feng kicked the two zombies to the ground and continued downward.

Just then, a system notification popped up.

[Notification: Would you like to increase the difficulty of your daily tasks?]

Two options appeared before him: [Yes] or [No].

Ye Feng hesitated for only a second before decisively choosing to increase the difficulty. The next moment, the task refreshed.

[Daily Task: Kill 20 zombies.]
[Task Reward: 20 portions of bait.]

Ye Feng’s eyes brightened. Nice! The task requirements had leveled up, and the rewards had scaled accordingly! This was a good thing.

When he reached the sixth floor, a group of zombies blocked the stairwell. With no path forward, Ye Feng’s gaze turned sharp. He drew his Flame Warblade from his storage space.

He swung the blade—*slash!*

A zombie’s head soared into the air as its body slowly collapsed. Two more zombies rushed forward. Ye Feng kicked them down with force, continued forward, and slashed repeatedly...

By the time Ye Feng stepped out of the unit door, he checked his task progress.

[Task Progress: 11/20]

He felt a surge of joy. Only nine more to go to complete the task.

With a light push of his toes, he flickered forward, sprinting toward the exit of the residential complex. The sky was overcast, and a blood-red mist hung in the air. Both in the complex and on the streets further away, terrifying zombies were wandering everywhere.

When he reached the gate, over a dozen zombies were already chasing him. Ye Feng stopped, turned to face them, and met them head-on.

He swung his blade in a flurry, light flashing like a storm. *Slash! Slash!* Several zombie heads flew into the air, black blood splattered, and bodies hit the ground.

Ye Feng went on a frenzied killing spree. Further away, the horde erupted. The zombies clawed and snarled, scrambling to rush toward him. Instead of retreating, Ye Feng charged into the heart of the horde, moving like a phantom.

As he closed in, Ye Feng clenched his right hand. Gray arcs of electricity gathered in his palm, crackling with thunderous energy.

*Crackle!*

A moment later, a sphere of lightning erupted from his hand!

*BOOM!*

The gray arc, wreathed in shimmering light, spread in all directions. The air was filled with the sound of explosions. The lightning arced and danced like dragons; every zombie that touched the divine thunder was instantly turned to dust, wiped out of existence.

"Destroy!"

The thunder grew even more intense!

*Boom! Boom!*

The surrounding zombies rushed at him like moths to a flame, only to be turned into fragments and ash, one after another!

The thunder roared, and the zombies surged forward! This grand scene of battle caught the attention of survivors in the surrounding buildings. They began to shout.

"Holy shit, lightning!"
"That's insane! Big brother, save me!"
"Mister super-powered guy, save me, I'm willing to be your subordinate!"

Ye Feng turned a deaf ear to the cries for help. Save them? With what? How many could he save? And once saved, would he be responsible for them?

Discard the savior complex and respect the fate of others!

Ye Feng continued to release his Chaotic Thunder Strikes, blasting the zombies into scraps! However, he soon frowned. His energy was depleting too quickly, and his mana pool was nearing empty.

He glanced at the task.

[Task Progress: 20/20]

The task was already complete.

Looking up, he saw that the zombies were still pouring in endlessly! Ye Feng sheathed his Flame Warblade and activated the protection skill of his Supreme God Ring.

*Swish!*

A golden light flashed, and Ye Feng entered a 100-second state of invincibility. Like a god of war descended, he attacked without dodging, charging into the horde and slaughtering them. The zombies' attacks landed on him, completely ineffective. Instead, he seized every opportunity to slash wildly!

As the blade flashed, zombie heads fell one after another!

Ye Feng kept reaping them. Kill, kill, kill!

The sky, the earth, the blood-red mist... yet the zombies continued to pour toward him endlessly. Ye Feng was deep in the mire of the swarm. This scene, naturally, was witnessed by others.

"The guy with the lightning powers is surrounded by zombies!"
"By my count, there are hundreds of them. He's probably going to die!"
"Serves him right! Being so arrogant, so what if he has powers!"

The survivors watched with schadenfreude, gossiping among themselves.

Down below, wave after wave of zombies kept rushing toward Ye Feng. His invincibility had not yet faded.

Kill, kill, kill!

Holding his Flame Warblade, Ye Feng slashed continuously, reaping the zombies around him, venting his emotions. In his previous life, he had lived his entire existence with caution, walking on thin ice. He had never once acted so recklessly and wantonly!