Chapter 2

Looking at the ghost assassin who had transformed into a black shadow behind him, Tang Tian felt a chill run down his spine. He still felt as if he were in a dream, finding it all so unreal.

First, people had turned into zombies, which was like the end of the world. Then, a storage ring appeared, something that usually only existed in fantasy novels. And to top it all off, he could summon hellish creatures.

What in this damned world was impossible?

"Looking so sneaky, I'll call you Xiaoying from now on," Tang Tian said, swallowing hard.

The head of the ghost assassin, standing behind Tang Tian, moved slightly, as if acknowledging the name Tang Tian had given him.

"Go and kill the zombie outside the door!" Tang Tian ordered, looking at Xiaoying.

Whoosh! Tang Tian felt a gust of wind pass by him, and he saw Xiaoying rush out, directly passing through the wooden door of the kitchen.

Through the gap, Tang Tian saw the ghost assassin come out of the door and approach the zombie, which was still pounding on the wooden door. The ghost assassin extended a pale hand from his black robe, the skin on his palm looking like a chicken claw.

Gripping the zombie's neck, he snapped it with a crack, and the zombie slowly collapsed to the ground.

Sss! Seeing the ghost assassin's ferocity, Tang Tian instinctively drew a sharp breath. At the same time, he felt a twinge of joy; the stronger the ghost assassin was, the greater his chances of survival.

However, Tang Tian noticed that no white light emerged from the zombie when it was killed. "Do I have to kill the zombies myself for them to drop items?"

"Pick up that gray box," Tang Tian commanded, despite his doubts. He hadn't forgotten the gray box that had dropped when the zombie was killed; it might contain something valuable.

Following Tang Tian's order, Xiaoying picked up the box from the ground and passed through the wall again, coming to Tang Tian's side and handing him the gray box.

"I wish I had the ability to pass through walls," Tang Tian thought enviously, holding the gray box.

"Lowest-grade treasure box, dropped by a monster. It may contain something valuable, but most of the time it will be empty. Do you want to open it?"

Looking at the gray box in his hand, Tang Tian heard the mysterious prompt in his mind again.

"Open it," Tang Tian said.

"Congratulations, you have obtained a low-quality dagger."

The treasure box opened and disappeared, and a 30-centimeter-long gray dagger appeared in Tang Tian's hand.

"Low-quality dagger, its sharpness is sufficient to cut through the bones of ordinary monsters. Attack: 2-5, Sharpness: 10. Do you want to equip it?"

Looking at the dagger in his hand, Tang Tian received another prompt.

"No, I won't equip it," Tang Tian said. After that, he didn't hear any more prompts.

Handing the dagger to the ghost assassin, Tang Tian said, "You take this; it's suitable for you."

The ghost assassin extended his chicken-claw-like hand from his black robe, took the dagger from Tang Tian, and then retreated. His figure became faint again, standing behind Tang Tian, almost indistinguishable from his shadow if not looked at carefully.

"The world has changed; it's no longer the same. I need to prepare as much as possible, and it's fortunate I have the storage ring," Tang Tian muttered to himself.

He then began to sweep through the kitchen.

Pots, pans, and utensils were all collected, along with gas cylinders, cleavers, and other items, all stuffed into the storage ring. Vegetables, rice, and meat were also packed into the ring.

Finally, after the small kitchen was almost empty, Tang Tian stopped his sweep and took stock of what he had collected.

Twelve 50-pound bags of rice, seven 20-pound bags of flour, three boxes of sausages, fifty heads of cabbage, 78 pounds of potatoes, 103 pounds of pork, 35 pounds of beef, and various oils and seasonings. All of these were food items. If Tang Tian were to eat alone, this would be enough for a year.

Then there were the items for use: nine gas cylinders (three of which were half-used), four pots, twelve cleavers, three cutting boards, and various other dishes.

Perhaps out of curiosity about the storage ring or fear of the unknown, Tang Tian felt that anything useful should be put into the ring, as it didn't add to his burden.

However, even after moving everything from the kitchen, it only occupied a corner of the storage ring's 100 cubic meters of space. The kitchen simply didn't have much to begin with.

"The canteen has three floors, each with three kitchens. If I move everything from these kitchens, I can find a place to hide! No, the prompt in my mind said that these zombies can evolve. Hiding will only lead to death. I must fight. And I don't know how many zombies are in the canteen now. Going out is extremely dangerous, let alone outside. Tianshui University has 50,000 students; who knows how many have turned into zombies. What should I do?" Tang Tian's mind was a jumble of thoughts, and he ended up confusing himself.

After all, no one could remain calm when they suddenly discovered that the entire world had changed.

"Whatever, I won't think about those messy things. I should focus on how to improve my strength. The prompt said I can level up. It feels like I'm playing a game."

Thinking about it, the attribute panel in Tang Tian's mind appeared again, and he noticed a subtle change. Other than that, there was a 60/100 number after Level 0, and a new prompt at the end indicating that his summon was the ghost assassin.

"Right, could it be that the white light when killing a zombie is the key to leveling up?" Suddenly, Tang Tian's eyes lit up with a realization.

"Let's try it. Based on the situation, killing one zombie gives 20 points, which I'll call experience. So, killing three zombies gave me 60 experience points. I need to kill two more zombies to level up. With Xiaoying by my side, my safety is somewhat guaranteed. So, let's go..."

Saying this, Tang Tian, along with Xiaoying, climbed out of the kitchen window. Of course, he climbed out, while Xiaoying simply walked out. He didn't dare go through the door, where there were several zombie corpses; who knew if touching them would cause infection.

Tang Tian's kitchen was on the third floor of the canteen. Exiting the kitchen, he came to the dining hall where students usually ate.

Observing the area, Tang Tian noticed that more than a dozen zombies were already wandering around the hall, most of them wearing chef's uniforms. After all, it was class time, and there weren't many students around.