However, the seemingly certain strike missed. The Cannibal Kind dodged the piece of metal in an extremely bizarre manner, pushing off with its hind legs and disappearing from its original spot.
Noah cursed under his breath and leapt out of the cargo area in a dive. The moment Noah jumped out, a pale figure pounced towards the spot where Noah had just been. It was the Cannibal Kind from before.
It clung to the side of the truck, its pale eyes devoid of any emotion, and its upper and lower rows of sharp teeth clicked against each other in a rhythmic clatter, with blood dripping slowly from between them.
The place where Noah had been leaning against just moments ago now had a large hole torn through it by the creature's claws, a fatal attack for anyone unfamiliar with the Cannibal Kind's method of assault. Their counterattack could be executed in an instant, incredibly fast; if the first attack didn't kill, one had to immediately change position.
Noah crouched, readying himself to attack. The Cannibal Kind screamed and lunged at him even faster. A smile curved at the corner of Noah's mouth.
"Fell for it, you fool!"
Lightning surged out instantly, striking the airborne Cannibal Kind squarely, while his steel-hardened right arm swung up, grasping its throat and then forcefully smashing it onto the ground. The Cannibal Kind shrieked in pain, its claws flailing in an attempt to counterattack.
Noah was one step ahead, having already controlled a piece of metal to pierce directly into the Cannibal Kind's head, stirring it around. After a few feeble twitches, the Cannibal Kind ceased to move. Such zombies have an overwhelming desire to attack; by merely showing the intention to strike, they would initiate an attack, which could be exploited to intercept and kill them.
Noah spat disdainfully and kicked the Cannibal Kind's corpse away. He locked the cargo area, jogged back to the driver's seat, started the truck, and drove over the scattered corpses towards the pharmacy where Liu Xiaoyu was.
He could handle a Cannibal Kind, but Liu Xiaoyu would undoubtedly perish if she encountered one. Noah hoped Liu Xiaoyu hadn't run into such a creature. Upon his return to the pharmacy, he found Liu Xiaoyu had already moved all the medications out, hiding behind the counter waiting for him.
Seeing Liu Xiaoyu unharmed, Noah let out a sigh of relief and quickly had her load all the medicines back into the truck. Then, the two set off in the big rig towards the next pharmacy, determined not to leave behind a single pill.
The double-axle truck had a carrying capacity of several tons, not limited by weight but by space. After raiding over a dozen pharmacies, the truck was barely half full, still with plenty of room for more.
Yet, Noah no longer wanted to continue the search for more pharmacies. Finding them was easy, but the task of moving supplies was exhaustingly tedious. Even with their strength-enhanced abilities, the back-and-forth of transporting goods proved to be overwhelmingly fatiguing.
"Let's call it a day and head back," Noah decided, downing a bottle of honeysuckle drink in resignation. Liu Xiaoyu had already collapsed in the passenger seat.
"Whatever Noah says," she managed to respond. Then, Noah hit the gas, turning the truck around to head back to their stronghold. To avoid making too much noise and due to the road conditions, they didn't drive fast, maintaining a speed just over thirty miles per hour. Even so, they attracted a considerable number of zombies tailing them.
Noah had to divide his attention between driving and using metal objects to block the pursuing horde. The truck not only drew the attention of zombies but also many survivors. People occasionally poked their heads out from the residential buildings along the road.
"Can you help me get some food up here? I'll give you a thousand."
"I'll give you five thousand for a box of instant noodles."
"I offer two hundred thousand just for you to bring me a pound of steak up here, I'll pay two hundred thousand, 2A grade is fine."
"I'll pay a million, could you please bring me a bag of rice and a pound of pork? I'll write you a check," someone offered. Noah simply ignored them all. Money was utterly useless in the apocalypse, too stiff even for toilet paper and not lasting when used for fire.
As Noah frequently used his abilities, his proficiency soared. His electrokinesis ability had grown from level 1 to level 5, and his strength enhancement reached level 5, the maximum level. His plundering ability remained at level 1 with a 30% proficiency, and as for his iron arm... level 1 was its maximum level. F-grade abilities were just that disappointing, with no room for growth.
With level 5 strength enhancement, Noah could lift around a ton with his bare hands. At level 5, his electrokinesis could control up to two tons of metal objects through the air, and the power of his electric attacks had significantly increased, capable of turning a zombie into charred flesh with each strike. The gap between abilities, even within the same category, remained vast...
As time passed and they neared their stronghold, the number of zombies tailing the truck reached a staggering figure, dense and numbering in the thousands, including a significant number of evolved types. There were the obese, exploding types; the fully calcified, hardened types; and the astonishingly agile, jumping types.
This was despite Noah's efforts to thin their numbers while driving. Bringing such a horde back to their base would flatten the entire place. Noah then pressed on the gas, increasing the truck's speed, unleashing the full power of his electrokinesis, and frequently using roadside vehicles to smash into the horde. He specifically targeted the exploding types for maximum effect, causing explosions with each hit, sending blood and flesh flying.
Thanks to Noah's interference, the horde quickly lost distance to the truck, and before long, the vehicle had vanished from the zombies' sight. Left without a target, the horde momentarily paused, then aimlessly dispersed in all directions, madly chasing after any living person they encountered.
The survivors who had previously peeked out from the residential buildings unfortunately attracted the attention of the mutated jumping types. Several jumpers leapt and climbed up the high-rise buildings, breaking through the windows. This was followed by a series of screams. Attracted by the screams, more zombies were drawn in, breaking through the doors of the residential buildings and flooding inside. More screams and cries for help arose.
As time progresses, mutated zombies will become increasingly common, making life increasingly difficult for ordinary people, to the point where each day feels like a year. Awakened individuals will also face challenges.
Ability levels are divided into eight grades: S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Under the assumption of maximum proficiency in their default abilities:
- F-grade and G-grade ability awakeners can only deal with Level 2 mutated zombies and might have a slim chance against Level 3 in a desperate fight.
- D-grade and E-grade ability awakeners can handle Level 3 to Level 4.
- B-grade and C-grade ability awakeners can confront Level 5.
- A-grade ability awakeners can tackle up to Level 7.
- S-grade ability awakeners are the most remarkable, capable of facing Level 7 to Level 8 top-tier mutated zombies, and possibly even higher.
Level 8 is also considered the pinnacle of zombie evolution.
Of course, these classifications are not absolute. High-level ability awakeners, before achieving proficiency in their abilities, are also vulnerable when facing advanced zombies. For example, S-grade awakeners theoretically have a high ceiling, but at this time, with low proficiency in their abilities, or even without knowing how to train their abilities properly, it wouldn't be surprising if they were killed by a Level 4 zombie.
At this stage, it's a race against time. Zombies evolve every day, and awakeners also grow every day; the competition is about who develops better. Abilities can be broadly classified into three types: combat, utility, and support. The first two are more outstanding in combat, while the combat power of support types is somewhat awkward. In solo combat, even an S-grade awakener might not defeat a Level 3 zombie...
But in the end, abilities are static, it's the person who is dynamic. The same ability can have different effects in the hands of different people; some can exceed limits, while others can't even maintain the baseline. It's like giving someone a million dollars: some might use it to start a successful business, while others might squander it away, ending up in debt within a few months.
Nothing is absolute. This is the true era of apocalypse, challenging your survival limits every second.