Chapter 10

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Chu Nan carefully found the withered reddish-brown bean-like object in the brain of the fallen woman, and then found two more in the brain of the doctor at the health center, both of which were withered. To ordinary people, they were useless, but Chu Nan had a magnifying glass, which made a difference.

"Chu Nan, what do you want this for?" Dongzi asked curiously.

Chu Nan said solemnly, "Once we get back to the city and find professional equipment, I want to study this thing in detail. The more I can collect now, the better." As he spoke, he put the two withered bean-like objects into his pocket.

Dongzi nodded and said, "I see. If we encounter more, I'll help you collect some. Maybe the reason these dead people can move and have such strength is related to this thing, but what you've collected is already withered."

Yu Xiaohu said, "Haven't you noticed? After we kill these dead people, we absorb something special."

Dongzi and Tang Sanli's faces showed a hint of strangeness. In fact, they had noticed it long ago but hadn't mentioned it.

Hearing Yu Xiaohu, Dongzi smiled and said, "When I killed the first one of these monsters last night, I was just curious. When I killed the second one, I thought maybe if we kill enough of these monsters and absorb enough energy, we might change. What do you think?"

Yu Xiaohu's scythe was covered in blood, and he muttered, "Killing these zombie-like monsters absorbs energy... I wonder if killing other people would do the same."

Upon hearing this, Chu Nan and the others were startled. Tang Sanli frowned and said, "Yu Xiaohu, what are you thinking?"

Yu Xiaohu was startled and showed a somewhat awkward expression, shaking his head. "No, just talking. I just remembered, I have a vague memory of this person. I used to see him for medical treatment. His surname is Yu, and we called him Doctor Yu."

As he spoke, he pointed to the doctor in a white coat lying on the ground with a smashed head.

Chu Nan looked at the vast ruins ahead and said, "Whether absorbing enough energy will cause any changes, we'll know once we try. In this place, it might be hard to find other things, but there are likely many of these zombie-like monsters."

The other three fell silent, looking at the ruins ahead.

From the ruins, there were rustling sounds everywhere, and one by one, figures staggered out. Soon, five severely damaged zombie-like monsters emerged.

One was a female doctor in a white coat, and the other four were villagers from the surrounding area. They had died in the earthquake, but a special force had brought them back to life, giving them instincts and strength beyond that of ordinary people.

Crawling out from under the ruins, their bodies were battered, but they moved very quickly.

Perhaps because it was daytime, or because they had killed such monsters last night, the four of them, though instinctively tense, were not afraid and did not think of fleeing.

Chu Nan, Tang Sanli, Dongzi, and Yu Xiaohu all took the initiative to attack.

Yu Xiaohu's scythe was very threatening to ordinary people, but to these zombie-like monsters, it was only effective if it destroyed their heads. Just cutting their bodies was useless. He learned from Chu Nan and picked up a stone, aiming for the heads of the zombie-like monsters.

The zombie-like monsters were faster and stronger than ordinary people, but their attacks were very simple. They would instinctively pounce on living people, grab them, and try to bite them.

Chu Nan and the others could let them grab their shoulders and then smash their heads with stones. The zombie-like monsters did not know how to dodge, and soon, the five of them were lying on the ground as true corpses, no longer moving.

Chu Nan still collected the withered reddish-brown bean-like objects from the five corpses, but the energy within had already been absorbed by Chu Nan and the others when they were killed.

However, Chu Nan only collected four, and Dongzi took one, saying he was helping Chu Nan collect, but kept it for himself. He vaguely felt that this thing was not as simple as Chu Nan said, and might have some secrets, so he kept one to study and to see Chu Nan's reaction.

Chu Nan understood his mindset and smiled faintly, not showing any particular concern.

Seeing Chu Nan's indifference, Dongzi was slightly disappointed. He had vaguely felt that Chu Nan might be hiding something, but now it seemed that was not the case.

Including the two from before, Chu Nan now had six withered reddish-brown bean-like objects.

Using the magnifying glass, Chu Nan could gather energy into these six withered bean-like objects and then absorb them, which would be equivalent to absorbing the energy from killing six zombie-like monsters at once.

Sensing the bean-like object in his mind, the space for storing energy was extremely small. Now that he had absorbed so much energy, it felt almost full. Perhaps killing a few more zombie-like monsters would fill it completely.

"Even without killing zombie-like monsters, absorbing the energy from these six bean-like objects when they are full will certainly fill it, but I wonder what will happen after it's full." Chu Nan was very excited, but he couldn't take out the magnifying glass now, as Dongzi was clearly suspicious.

If Dongzi knew this secret, not only would there be other troubles, but they would also compete for the bean-like objects in the brains of the corpses.

"Damn, aren't zombies or zombie-like monsters supposed to be afraid of sunlight? They shouldn't come out during the day, but these monsters don't seem to fear the sun." Dongzi kicked one of the headless corpses and spat.

Yu Xiaohu muttered, "The sun didn't come out today."

Dongzi looked up. Although it was daytime, the sky was overcast, and the sun was not visible. It was a cloudy day, and he was speechless.

"There really isn't any sun, but I doubt these guys would be afraid even if the sun came out." Dongzi grumbled.

After killing these zombie-like monsters, the four entered the ruins. Yu Xiaohu carefully identified the location of the health center to search for useful items.

Because many buildings had collapsed, it was not easy to identify the health center, which was not very large.

The four did not dare to separate and searched bit by bit. Chu Nan also paid attention to collecting useful items.

Occasionally, they saw corpses partially exposed under the debris. Not everyone who died turned into a zombie-like monster. Many corpses had their heads smashed or were too damaged or buried too deep to crawl out.

"Hey, come over here—!" Dongzi suddenly shouted, holding something in the ruins, almost roaring.

Chu Nan looked over and saw a pile of instant noodles, bread, and cookies.

Yu Xiaohu and Tang Sanli's eyes lit up, and they rushed over.

Chu Nan crossed a pile of bricks and came over as well.

"This is a small store that sells daily necessities. I remember it. It's not far from the health center, no more than twenty meters away." Yu Xiaohu exclaimed excitedly.

Tang Sanli and Dongzi were even more excited, but not because they wanted to find the health center. They were excited about the large amount of food in the store.

The small store had also collapsed in the earthquake, and many items were buried. Chu Nan, Tang Sanli, Dongzi, and Yu Xiaohu started searching through the debris.

This was a small store selling daily necessities, mainly serving the local villagers. It was a mini-supermarket with items like toothpaste, soap, oil, salt, and condiments, as well as snacks like cookies, bread, candy, and sausages, and various drinks.

Dongzi picked up a dusty bottle of cola, opened it, and drank greedily.

Yu Xiaohu and Tang Sanli were not shy either.

Chu Nan saw a box of mineral water under a fallen wooden board and carefully took out the bottles.

"Phew... That's so damn comfortable." Dongzi exhaled deeply, feeling like he was ascending to heaven, and wanted to lie down and enjoy it.

Chu Nan took a few boxes of chocolate and put them in his pocket. This was high-calorie food, useful in critical moments.

"Don't rush to eat. Let's find bags to carry the food, and each of us should decide what to take..." Tang Sanli said, but suddenly froze.

Chu Nan also reacted almost instantly, jumping up and rushing away, shouting, "Run!"

While they were collecting food in the small store, a dense crowd of zombie-like monsters had gathered in the distance. There were at least twenty or thirty of them, all severely damaged, all dead people turned into monsters.

These twenty or thirty zombie-like monsters gathered together, different from before. This time, they made no sound, quietly approaching and slowly surrounding them. It wasn't until they were within ten meters that Tang Sanli and Chu Nan realized it.

Because the area was filled with collapsed buildings and debris, it was easy for the zombie-like monsters to approach without being noticed as long as they didn't make a sound.

What did it mean to have twenty or thirty zombie-like monsters surrounding them? Tang Sanli was stunned, and Chu Nan had already shouted and rushed out.

There was no time to hesitate. Any hesitation might mean death.

A zombie-like monster in front of them finally attacked, pouncing on Chu Nan viciously.

Chu Nan grabbed a rebar with concrete and swung it hard.

With a "bang," the concrete on the rebar hit the zombie-like monster's face, splattering blood. The impact was strong, and the zombie-like monster was thrown back, crashing heavily to the ground.