A shadow moved with blinding speed, lunging at Zhu Jiu with razor-sharp black claws aimed straight for his throat.
"Courting death!"
In a flash, Zhu Jiu shouted, his upper body bending backward as his hands braced against the ground. His legs shot out like lightning.
Rabbit Kicks Eagle!
The shadow was sent flying by Zhu Jiu's powerful kick, crashing into a car parked by the roadside, shattering its window.
Now, Zhu Jiu got a clear look at the creature.
"A zombie? Or a jiangshi?" Zhu Jiu muttered with a frown.
The shadow resembled a human, wearing a tattered suit. Its eyes were completely white, its skin a ghastly black, and its fingers ended in long, sharp, blackened claws.
It looked like something straight out of a horror film.
But unlike the slow, lumbering zombies of the movies, this creature was frighteningly fast—far quicker than an average human.
As Zhu Jiu stared at the abomination, his system interface popped up in his vision.
[Species: Infected (Lightly Injured)]
[Tier: None]
[Origin: A human who failed to evolve after absorbing dark energy. It has infection capabilities. Killing it will earn you 1 point.]
[Danger Level: Tier 1 (Mildly Dangerous)]
"So, it's faster, stronger, and can spread infection," Zhu Jiu noted grimly.
The creature was already scrambling back to its feet, its movements unnervingly quick.
A normal person wouldn't be able to get up after being kicked like that, but this thing acted as if nothing had happened.
"Guess I'll have to spend those points now."
Zhu Jiu didn't hesitate any longer. He invested all his remaining points into upgrading his Bagua Blade technique.
While he could kill this thing with his bare hands, he wasn't taking any chances with its infectious abilities. A blade would keep him safer.
[Upgrading Bagua Blade...]
[Bagua Blade upgrade successful.]
[Host has consumed 50 points. Bagua Blade upgraded to Tier 1, Level 6.]
As knowledge surged into his mind, a dull ache throbbed in Zhu Jiu's head.
"Fifty points for this upgrade... You'd better be worth it," Zhu Jiu growled, gripping the twin blades at his waist.
The infected creature roared, charging at him again, its foul stench permeating the air.
"Disgusting beast!"
"Die!"
With a sharp cry, Zhu Jiu drew his twin blades.
The silver arcs of the blades flashed as they unsheathed, crossing mid-air with a resonant hum.
Bagua Blade. Opening Move!
The infected creature was less than a meter away, its claws raised, ready to strike.
Zhu Jiu's expression remained cold and indifferent as he swiftly sheathed his blades.
"Clink!"
As the blades clicked into place, the creature collapsed to the ground in pieces, its body cleaved into uneven chunks.
[Detected: Host has killed an Infected. System is capturing dark energy...]
[Dark energy captured successfully. Host gains 1 point.]
Zhu Jiu ignored the system notification.
Instead, he stared at the mangled remains, feeling as if a chain had snapped inside his heart.
In peaceful times, martial artists are restricted by the law. Despite his skill, Zhu Jiu had been forced to live a mundane life, eking out a living as a taxi driver while enduring mockery from competitors.
But now, the world was in chaos. It was the apocalypse. The old rules were gone, and order had crumbled.
No more kowtowing to petty villains.
See injustice? Kill.
Face oppression? Kill.
If there was unease in his chest, the blade was his answer!
With newfound clarity, Zhu Jiu swung his blade at an approaching infected, shouting triumphantly:
"I've never sought virtue, only chaos!"
"The chains of fate are broken, my spirit unbound!"
"The tides of the Qiantang River rise, and today, I find myself anew!"
Without lingering, Zhu Jiu strode toward his destination.
Lacquer Street, where Zhu Jiu's gym was located, was named for its murals of lacquer art that lined the walls.
The street was short, barely 700 or 800 meters, but what Zhu Jiu saw now was horrifying.
Hundreds of infected roamed the street, wreaking havoc. Blood and carnage filled the air.
Panicked citizens fled in all directions, though some brave souls tried to fight back.
Unfortunately, ordinary people were no match for the infected. Few could escape, and once targeted, survival was slim.
The murals on the street walls were now splattered with blood.
Zhu Jiu sighed, casually decapitating an infected to save a child.
The child scurried into a nearby building, and Zhu Jiu moved on without looking back.
He wouldn't hesitate to save someone if it was convenient, but he wouldn't go out of his way.
Helping one person would lead to another, and another. He couldn't save everyone.
Ultimately, it would only cost him his life.
"This is the apocalypse. Everyone's survival depends on their strength. Without power, death is certain," Zhu Jiu murmured, slicing through another infected.
[Detected: Host has killed an Infected. System is capturing dark energy...]
[Dark energy captured successfully. Host gains 1 point.]
This was the thirteenth infected he had killed.
The distance from his gym to the supermarket was only 300 or 400 meters, yet he had already accumulated 13 points along the way, a testament to the sheer number of infected.
With the newfound points, Zhu Jiu upgraded his Bagua Blade again.
[Host has consumed 10 points. Bagua Blade leveled up to Tier 1, Level 7.]
At Level 7, Zhu Jiu could feel the difference. His strikes were faster, his movements more fluid. Killing the infected became significantly easier.
"One level's improvement feels like a 10% boost in power," Zhu Jiu estimated. "Grinding these infected for points is efficient. Once I've secured supplies, I'll max out my Bagua Blade."
With this thought, Zhu Jiu pushed open the supermarket doors.
To his surprise, a headless infected lay sprawled on the ground, its skull smashed in.
This was the first time he'd seen an infected killed by someone else.
"Get lost!" a coarse voice bellowed from deeper inside the store. "This is my turf! If you're smart, you'll leave, or I'll kill you!"
The voice sent a chill through Zhu Jiu.
He knew it too well. He hated it to the core.
"Duan Zeri!" Zhu Jiu growled, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.
"You?"
Duan Zeri stepped out from the shadows, his expression shifting from surprise to a mocking smirk.
"Zhu Jiu, what are you doing here with a blade? Planning to kill someone? Or did you come here to die?"
"It's the apocalypse now. If I kill you, no one will know."
With that, Duan Zeri pulled something from his waist—a crossbow.
"I told you before, the times have changed," Duan Zeri sneered. "No matter how skilled you are, can you be faster than a crossbow?"
"You have two choices: drop your blades and work for me, or die right here."
Duan Zeri raised the crossbow, aiming it at Zhu Jiu.
The moment the crossbow's aim locked onto him, Zhu Jiu's hairs stood on end—a martial artist's instinctive sense of danger.
He knew he had grown much stronger, but he was still flesh and blood. A single bolt would seriously injure him; two would kill him outright.
Strangely, the danger only sharpened Zhu Jiu's focus. His mind became crystal clear.
"He has two bolts loaded. We're ten meters apart. The supermarket layout is chaotic... I might have a chance."
"If I dodge both bolts, he's dead!"
Zhu Jiu's foot shifted slightly forward as a cold smile spread across his face.
"I choose the third option—to kill you!"
Before his words finished, Zhu Jiu lunged left toward a shelf.
At the same instant, a bolt whizzed past where he had been standing, embedding itself into the ground with a sharp thunk, the shaft quivering.
If Zhu Jiu had been half a second slower, he would've been skewered.
"One bolt left," Zhu Jiu murmured, locking eyes with Duan Zeri through the gaps in the shelves.
His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, fierce as a wolf's.
Today, only one of them would leave this supermarket alive.