Ethan couldn't hear anything the people around him were saying; his heavy breathing was the only thing resonating in his mind. Nonetheless, he could see the expression on that bastard Matthew's face, which caused his anger to skyrocket to levels he had never experienced before.
He desperately wished to rise up and tear him apart, from his limbs to crushing his skull over and over again!
Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything. He felt weaker and weaker, to the point of feeling like he was dying. It seemed absurd to him that, after everything he had been through, he would end up dying in such an unknown way.
He couldn't accept it. His fate wouldn't be controlled by anything or anyone!
As Ethan grew weaker, the people around him seemed to calm down. Even the waiter stopped trying to call the police.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
Suddenly, the coughing of some people in the bar intensified considerably, causing concern among those with them.
"They said it was just a cold, but it seems more serious..." mentioned Garret, one of Matthew's friends, with his terrifying tattoos covering much of his skin.
He was someone who had faced countless life-or-death situations as a criminal, and something in the air made him uncomfortable.
His icy and wild eyes scanned the surroundings, but found nothing.
"Let's stop talking nonsense and drink already!" insisted Ashley as she looked for a table to sit at. Both she and the others completely ignored Ethan, as they cared little about him even when he was fine, and now that he seemed sick, they cared even less.
Most of them were looking to have fun drinking, so they considered it right to let the staff take care of Ethan.
However, Brandon was the exception, as he glanced at Ethan with a concerned look. He looked at Matthew and found it unpleasant to see how he was ignoring his own brother in that way.
Although he knew there was deep resentment between the two brothers, he didn't expect it to go this far.
For a moment, he even considered approaching and offering help. But seeing more waiters coming to control the situation, he decided to join the rest of the group and have a drink.
Just when everything seemed fine, things were about to change forever.
At a separate table in the bar, a father and his daughter were celebrating her job promotion with expensive drinks.
Cough! Cough!
Blergh!
As they talked about the past and shared their dreams for the future, the woman tried to suppress her cough as discreetly as possible. Despite that, suddenly, she felt something warm building up in her throat and, with a vacant look, she vomited a mouthful of blood in front of her father, who still had a smile on his face.
"...?"
The father, his smile frozen in place, trembled as he touched his face. His hands were stained with blood, and in horrified silence, he gazed at his daughter, who continued to cough and expel blood.
"Oh dear, what's happening to you?!"
Not only her, but all those who had been coughing for some time began to experience the same symptoms. The first person to scream was a desperate man who helplessly watched his wife fall to the ground, coughing up blood incessantly.
"Quick, call the doctors! I have a lot of money! I'll give anything to anyone who helps my daughter!" the previous father urgently shouted, using all his resources to help his daughter.
"I also possess a great fortune, I'm willing to offer any amount to anyone who helps my husband!"
Soon, wealthy people in the bar started shouting exorbitant sums of money, desperate to get help as quickly as possible.
Ethan, who was experiencing his own calamity, couldn't help but look at what was happening and, with great willpower,managed to stagger away from the people coughing blood around him.
He knew all too well that the zombie apocalypse was about to begin!
Matthew and the rest, who were just starting to enjoy their drinks, looked around cautiously. The most alert of them all was Garret, who without hesitation signaled for everyone to stay away from those coughing blood.
Something in his mind screamed that everything was about to spiral out of control.
Zaaap!
Suddenly, a sound that was very familiar to Ethan resonated in the air. He turned his gaze in that direction and, as expected, a blue shockwave pierced through the bar wall.
Zzzooommm!
Last time, he didn't have time to react to this strange phenomenon, but this time, his eyes carefully observed as chaotic blue energy expanded in all directions.
Although it lasted only for an instant, he could perceive countless particles within that energy moving as if they were alive.
As it passed through his body, some particles adhered to his skin and disappeared inside, leaving only a faint sensation of being mildly electrified.
Zzzt!
He instinctively looked forward, and as expected, a circular blue hologram appeared before his eyes.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see people panicking as a result of what had happened. Furthermore, those coughing blood were dangerously close to turning into zombies.
But he didn't care. He focused on reading what appeared on the screen.
[Analyzing user's species and memory...
Completed!
User Ethan Harvey Miller, identified as one of the three billion surviving humans. Planet Earth is in the midst of a catastrophic disaster that threatens the extinction of all life forms.
In contrast, humanity is not alone in this desperate struggle.
Through my intervention, you will be provided with the knowledge and resources necessary to resist and possibly triumph over this calamity.
May the threads of destiny align in your favor.
Good luck!]
It had been so long since he last read something that he feared he had forgotten how to read. However, every word that unfolded in his mind through the screen was assimilated as if a hundred years hadn't passed since his last interaction with a book!
On the other hand, what was displayed on this strange screen seemed... useless to him.
It was only informing him of things he already knew. Where were the knowledge and resources that were supposed to help him?
"Oh?"
As if it had heard his thoughts, the letters on the screen disappeared and were replaced by other words.
[Name: Ethan Harvey Miller.
Race: Human?
Stellar Power Level: F-
Learned blueprints: 0
Acquired advanced knowledge: None.
Acquired intermediate knowledge: None.
Acquired basic knowledge: None.
User's body shows no improvements of any kind.
Knowledge Points: 0
An E-rank weapon enhancement coupon has been awarded as a welcome gift!
User status summary: An average human with no remarkable characteristics, but upon reviewing his memories, he is more special than any human could be, even in the vast universe. Although his body is of the human species, his soul belongs to an unknown species with extremely dangerous potential.
As a reward for providing unique information, one hundred knowledge points have been granted.]
In the part where the knowledge points were displayed, they went from zero to a hundred in an instant. Ethan frowned, he didn't expect this digital existence to be able to read his memories. Nevertheless, it seemed strange to him that it was mentioned that his soul belonged to an unknown species.
Wasn't he a demon?
But in reality, he didn't care. He identified himself as a demon, and that wasn't going to change!
Just as he was thinking about what to do with the hundred knowledge points he had been given, he noticed that the people who had been coughing had turned into zombies and were tearing apart those who were near them.
In an eerie silence, he watched as everything unfolded, just as it had happened in the past. A man panicked and ran out of the bar, only to be devoured by a trio of zombies.
Then, people started stupidly arguing about what to do, despite having enough numbers to kill or contain those three zombies.
"Get out of the way, you useless people!"
Hatred intensified in Ethan's eyes as he saw the man shouting, but unfortunately, he couldn't move, let alone kill Matthew.
He truly hated feeling so pathetic and powerless!
But he didn't understand what his body wanted. He had a theory that something had gone wrong during the possession of this body while traveling to the past.
Yet, they were nothing more than scattered thoughts.
Soon, Matthew and his friends killed two zombies and left one trapped on the floor with pieces of a wooden chair.
Without paying attention to Ethan, they ran out of the place.
Some people in the bar followed them, while others scattered in different directions. Everything happened exactly as it was in his memories. However, there was one difference: he wasn't following them anymore.
Now he was alone in the bar, taking clumsy steps as he approached the exit.
His eyes didn't waver from the two zombie corpses.
There was something desperately calling him, which made him realize what his body longed for!
"Gaaahhhh!"
With indifference, he observed for a few seconds as the zombie writhing on the floor looked at him as if he were a succulent piece of meat.
Swoosh!
Without hesitation, he grabbed a couple of large shards of glass from the floor and opened the chests of the two zombies, revealing purple flesh with almost black blood and ribs covered in thin red roots that spread throughout their insides.
"Hahaha! I knew it!"
A huge and terrifying smile formed on Ethan's mouth, showing his white teeth.
It was demonic essence, or at least something similar...
What floated inside those zombies had some differences from the essence he had always extracted from the demons he had killed in the past.
It was green instead of dark red, and strange blue symbols floated and flickered around it.
But nothing would stop Ethan from absorbing those essences, no matter the changes they had. With trembling hands, he grabbed the two essences and brought them to his mouth, instantly absorbing them with an expression of ecstasy, as if it were the most delicious delicacy in the world.
He closed his eyes, ignoring his surroundings as if he weren't immersed in a zombie apocalypse.
It was like drinking water from a spring after days without a single drop. He felt his body fill with strength, although this sensation disappeared within seconds.
As he opened his eyes again, his pupils shimmered with a mysterious green color.
"...It's much weaker than the first demonic essence I absorbed," Ethan whispered as he stretched, feeling his energy recover.
"Hhhhgg-"
Splat!
The body of the roaring zombie convulsed for a moment before becoming completely still. Its head turned into a pulp of blood, bones, and brain matter under Ethan's shoe.
Realizing that the demonic essence obtained from those zombies was so scarce, he couldn't help but feel that it was a waste to leave behind this essence.
Ding!
[Three F-rank blueprints have been obtained. Please check the blueprint inventory to see what type of blueprints you have acquired.]