His greatest hobby every day was playing video games in his rented apartment.
Day after day, year after year, he never once thought about the future.
"Just take life one day at a time," he used to tell himself.
But suddenly, a month ago, the whole world changed. Zombies broke out everywhere, biting anything they could. Faced with the undead, Xu Chao finally understood what it meant for everyone to be equal.
Those well-dressed white-collar workers were devoured by zombies.
Those high-ranking managers and bosses were scared out of their wits.
And he, a lowly security guard, someone whom no one ever paid attention to, suddenly became different.
At the moment the apocalypse arrived, he awakened a talent.
An E-rank talent—Shadow Manipulator!
In front of him, a black shadow appeared out of thin air, and he could control this shadow!
Under the power of this shadow, those vicious zombies were sliced apart as easily as chopping vegetables!
As for the woman, her name was Zhou Lan.
When the apocalypse broke out, Zhou Lan was chased by a group of zombies. In her panic, she fled to Xu Chao's residential area and found herself trapped.
Originally, Xu Chao had no intention of meddling, but Zhou Lan was simply too beautiful.
So, he manipulated the shadow, wiped out the zombies, and saved Zhou Lan.
After asking her a few questions, he discovered that Zhou Lan had a very extraordinary background. She was the daughter of a famous local entrepreneur—a wealthy heiress.
She had studied abroad at an Ivy League university, a veritable darling of the heavens.
You could say Xu Chao and Zhou Lan were from completely different worlds.
Zhou Lan's daily afternoon tea alone cost more than Xu Chao's monthly rent.
But now, Xu Chao had saved Zhou Lan, and in the face of the zombie threat, he was in absolute control.
So, under his coercion and temptation, Zhou Lan became his woman.
Xu Chao looked out at the zombies through the window, a smile on his face as he sighed from the bottom of his heart.
"This truly is a great era!"
In the past, someone like Zhou Lan would have been completely out of his league, but now he could do whatever he wanted.
Looking at this once-untouchable goddess, now reduced to satisfying his whims, Xu Chao felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. He was completely in love with this era.
After the apocalypse began, Xu Chao and Zhou Lan hadn't left the apartment.
On one hand, the supplies in the room were still sufficient. On the other hand, Xu Chao knew that, although he had awakened a talent, his shadow was still too weak.
What if they left and a more powerful evolver took an interest in Zhou Lan?
Xu Chao had a typical loser mentality. Having been single for over twenty years, he finally managed to get a woman and was naturally desperate to hold onto her.
He even wished he could stay in the apartment with Zhou Lan for the rest of his life!
He was terrified that another man might lay eyes on Zhou Lan....
Moreover, his shadow was an evolutionary type that needed to constantly devour energy crystal cores to grow stronger. By now, the zombies in his neighborhood had almost all been wiped out.
But the energy crystal cores he had obtained were few.
On top of that, he didn't know much about cultivation. Even when he got his hands on an energy crystal cores, he didn't know how to fully absorb the energy within.
This led to a lot of waste.
A month later, he was still a level 1 evolver, with no change in his strength.
However, Xu Chao wasn't worried. Although his talent was only E-rank, it had the potential to evolve. As the shadow's strength increased, the talent's rank could also evolve.
It was truly a heaven-defying ability!
But at the moment, Xu Chao's mind was still entirely occupied with thoughts of women.
He even started to wonder if there were other survivors in Donghua City.
Could there be other beautiful women out there?
"Breakfast is ready."
Zhou Lan's voice came from the living room. Xu Chao responded and walked over to the dining table.
Breakfast was simple—frozen buns and two glasses of milk.
But even such a simple meal was considered a rare delicacy in this post-apocalyptic world.
These were all collected by Xu Chao using his shadow, scavenging from other places.
Thinking about this, Xu Chao couldn't help but marvel at how incredible his talent was.
Although it was initially just E-rank, it could evolve as the shadow evolved, eventually reaching S-rank!
The shadow itself was also extraordinary. Not only was it incredibly powerful in combat, but it could also devour anything. The shadow's interior functioned like a storage space, allowing him to store items.
Moreover, Xu Chao could project his consciousness onto the shadow.
But the most amazing part was that his shadow would never disappear. Even if it strayed far from him or was destroyed, it would instantly return to him and resurrect.
That's why Xu Chao loved this era so much.
Not only could someone from the bottom of society like him obtain a goddess like Zhou Lan, but his talent also had immense potential!
As Xu Chao ate breakfast, he began contemplating his future plans.
The reason he had been hiding out with Zhou Lan wasn't just because his mind was filled with lust.
The most important reason was that his talent had a significant weakness.
While his shadow was incredibly powerful, even capable of infinite regeneration, Xu Chao himself was still just an ordinary person.
He could get hurt. He could die.
So Xu Chao didn't dare leave the apartment just yet. He planned to bide his time and develop his strength quietly...
Because if his shadow could evolve just once, it would be able to merge with his body, giving him the ability to protect himself.
Over the past few days, Xu Chao had been using his shadow to explore the situation in Donghua City.
By projecting his consciousness onto the shadow, he didn't have to worry about any danger; he could go anywhere he wanted.
He even discovered that some survivors had established shelters in several places around Donghua City, some of which housed other evolvers!
But these weren't Xu Chao's main concern at the moment.
What he did notice was that the zombies seemed to be changing.
When the outbreak first occurred, the zombies, though ferocious and terrifying, weren't overwhelmingly strong.
But now, some zombies had become significantly more powerful and terrifying than others. They were not only faster but also no longer feared daylight.
The zombies had started to evolve...
And in one part of Donghua City, over ten thousand zombies had gathered, with one zombie in particular becoming extraordinarily large, reaching a height of five meters—almost as tall as a two-story building.
It was practically a mountain of flesh!
It could be considered a Zombie King!
Xu Chao's goal was this Zombie King.
He knew very well that while ordinary zombies carried energy crystal cores, the Zombie King's core would undoubtedly be something special.
Its energy crystal core was probably hundreds of times purer than a regular core!
And it wasn't just about having hundreds of ordinary cores to match the Zombie King's core.
Energy purity was of utmost importance.
As his strength had increased, Xu Chao noticed that ordinary energy crystal cores no longer had the same impact they once did.
If he wanted to break through to the next level, he would likely need a higher-grade energy crystal cores!
It could be said that if he could obtain the Zombie King's energy crystal core, Xu Chao would likely be able to advance directly to a level 2 evolver.
And his talent could evolve to D-rank!
Although this Zombie King was incredibly powerful and terrifying, Xu Chao's shadow wasn't a match for it just yet.
But don't forget, his shadow could regenerate indefinitely.
Xu Chao planned to wear it down slowly!
All he needed to do was stay in his apartment and safely control the shadow remotely...
As Xu Chao was deep in thought, Zhou Lan suddenly spoke in a low voice, "I heard on the radio that someone has established a shelter in the suburbs, and they're broadcasting to find survivors."
Hearing this, Xu Chao frowned.
He shook his head and said, "I don't have enough strength yet. We'll go out once I become a level 2 evolver."
Staying cooped up in the apartment forever wasn't a solution, after all.
When the apocalypse first hit, people still had access to the internet and could share information on forums.
But later, the internet went down, leaving only the radio as a means of communication.
So some shelters started using radio broadcasts to send messages and gather survivors.
In this apocalypse, ordinary people could only hope to survive by banding together.
Meanwhile, Dongdu City had also been broadcasting that it would be the largest shelter in the nation, maybe even the world.
They were calling for fleeing soldiers and evolvers to join them.
In recent days, many fleeing soldiers and evolvers had joined Dongdu, becoming subordinates of the Qin family.
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