This brought Zhang Yang's thoughts back to the laboratory where his parents had once worked.
There, it seemed there had been mutated creatures similar to zombies, along with children about his age, possibly involved in some large-scale experiment.
The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it seemed.
Zhang Yang stroked his chin, letting out a soft murmur:
"Clearly, behind this apocalypse, there is a deeper secret yet to be uncovered..."
His curiosity was piqued.
But he also knew,
Curiosity can be the death of a cat.
For now, the most pressing matter was still devouring flesh and enhancing his strength.
Once he had power, he would have the capital to do as he pleased—whether it was ruling the apocalypse or uncovering the truth, neither would pose an obstacle or danger.
Thus,
Zhang Yang decided to switch to local TV sources.
While watching classic zombie movies like Train to Busan, he leisurely devoured the steak, beef legs, and beef shank placed on the coffee table.
Zombies ate quickly,
No longer needing to chew slowly as humans once did.
They simply took large bites and swallowed,
Since the food would inevitably be broken down by powerful stomach acids, transforming into pure energy.
Though the outside world was still in turmoil,
Zhang Yang's villa remained an idyllic sanctuary, exclusively his, with no fear of disturbance.
As he ate and watched,
Time passed unnoticed.
A full day and night quietly drifted by.
As the first light of dawn appeared once again,
It was already the second day of the apocalypse. Zhang Yang had, through his relentless consumption of flesh, accumulated enough energy—200 points—allowing him to ascend to the second tier of the ordinary level, further strengthening his abilities compared to his first-tier self.
His enhanced perception, defense, and strength—let alone his psychic powers—were far beyond that of an ordinary human.
But perhaps the most significant change was that the agility which had once been his greatest weakness was no longer a drawback.
After a brief stretch in the yard,
He ran a hundred meters in just over six seconds, faster than even a sprinter, several times faster than any human!
If he were to hunt, no survivor would escape his grasp!
The most important discovery, however,
Was that his innate talent, King's Potential, had increased—both the level of zombies he could command and the number of zombies he could control had risen.
Now, with a mere command,
All zombies below the second tier within a twenty-meter radius would obey his every word, flocking to him.
He could command a zombie horde, even a tide of the undead!
At the first tier, his control had been limited to a mere ten meters.
This newfound power gave Zhang Yang, who had been confined to his villa, the urge to explore.
"Let's go for a walk around the neighborhood and see if there are any unexpected gains."
Without hesitation,
Zhang Yang straightened his clothes, glanced at himself in the mirror, and stepped out of the villa.
He strolled along the roads,
Wandering leisurely through the upscale Deep Lake Longjing neighborhood.
It was the second day of the apocalypse, and the devastation in the area had grown even worse than the day before.
There were more mutilated corpses, blood spilled across the streets, dark and congealed, stuck to the walls and ground. Zombies wandered aimlessly, their eyes glazed, their movements sluggish.
But the moment a sound—however slight—reached their ears,
They would snap to attention like wild dogs unleashed, scrambling to the source of the noise.
Yet,
As Zhang Yang walked slowly toward them,
The zombies—most of them still at the zero tier—did not dare to move, not even a step. In fact, they bowed their heads slightly in an unusual gesture of respect and submission, their eyes void of any greed.
This was Zhang Yang's innate kingly aura!
He was born to be the Zombie King.
Even without using his talent, every gesture of his exuded an unspoken, undeniable authority, one that forced weaker zombies to bow before him.
The world of zombies was simple.
There were only those that could be eaten and those that could not.
Humans and weaker mutated creatures were seen as nothing but delicious prey in the eyes of most zombies.
But facing Zhang Yang, who possessed King's Potential,
The zombies in the neighborhood did not dare to act out of line.
Thus,
After casually strolling down two streets, Zhang Yang had already gathered a small horde of one to two hundred zombies. The growing mass of undead could easily overpower any lone survivor.
However,
Though he was patrolling as the Zombie King,
Zhang Yang wasn't looking for a battle.
He waved his hand, dismissing the obedient zombies that had followed him, telling them to go off and rest, assuring them that they would be called upon when needed, but there was no need to be like clingy shadows.
As he walked,
Suddenly,
Zhang Yang's ears perked up.
He seemed to catch the sound of a distant fight, mingled with voices filled with excitement.
"Someone!"
Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow.
This was the first time he had discovered traces of survivors. From the sound of it, there were at least five or six people involved.
"How dare they cause trouble in my territory?"
At this point, the entire Deep Lake Longjing neighborhood had become Zhang Yang's domain.
Someone dared to stir up trouble in his own land?
As its ruler,
Zhang Yang knew he had to investigate and deal with the intruders!
Without delay,
He quickened his pace toward the source of the commotion.
...
Southeast corner of the neighborhood.
A leisure pavilion.
At that moment,
Four or five strong men stood there, some with fierce expressions, others slightly nervous, all wielding wooden clubs. They had surrounded a large, muscular zombie and were relentlessly attacking it.
"Be careful, this creature is tough; don't let it scratch you and infect you!"
"It's so strong! Even I, a fitness trainer, can't handle it!"
"Move back!"
"Now's the time! Zhao Cheng, Xu Song, strike its skull!"
"This hunt can only succeed, not fail! If we can get the energy crystal from this beast's heart, I, Han Cong, can take the final step to become an Evolver. When that happens, I won't forget you guys!"
"..."
The five men exchanged promises as they coordinated their attacks, somewhat in sync.
Among them, four were mere distractions, using their clubs to impede the zombie's attacks.
The only one truly able to inflict serious damage was Han Cong, a man in a suit with gold-rimmed glasses.
He was the one who had made the earlier promises.
According to the official reports on television, the hearts of mutated creatures contained energy crystals.
By consuming these crystals, ordinary people could awaken special abilities and become powerful Evolvers.
Han Cong was the closest of the group to becoming an Evolver, having already awakened a rudimentary ability. He only needed one final energy crystal to break through to become a first-tier Evolver.
At that moment, he was relentlessly striking the zombie with his palm, sending thin wind blades through the air in an attempt to finish it off.