Chapter 5

The zombie raised its head in confusion and strained to look in the direction of the sound. A "Chevrolet" sedan came rushing from the distance, speeding like a runaway horse, rapidly approaching. Before the slow-moving zombie could even get up from the ground, the roaring car had already charged straight at it, violently smashing it at the waist. Its fragile, half-rotten lower body was instantly crushed by the tires, while the upper body was pinned to the hood, only to fall heavily to the ground after the car came to a stop a hundred meters away.

Su Hao got out of the car, raised a fire axe, and fiercely chopped off the zombie's two arms. Xin Yan, who followed closely behind, grabbed a metal rod over two meters long with a "Y"-shaped fork at the front, forcefully clamping the zombie's neck and pressing it firmly to the ground, rendering it immobile.

The metal rod was something Su Hao had welded together from various materials at a hardware store the previous night. In the future world, such items were essential tools for all zombie hunters.

Crouching down, he used a dagger to cut open the zombie's clothes and then gently sliced the skin on its back. The virus had eroded most of its physiological functions, causing the exposed muscles to show large gray spots. Following the incision, Su Hao focused intently on searching through the damaged tendons and muscles. Soon, a thick, dark red blood vessel, still retaining its color, emerged from the deeply separated muscles, slightly below the back of the neck.

He took a bottle of solution made from white powder from his backpack, inserted a syringe into the rubber stopper, drew out twenty milliliters, and then injected it into the blood vessel on the zombie's back. As the white solution was slowly pushed in, the zombie, whose neck was firmly clamped by the metal rod, began to howl wildly as if stimulated. Its eyeballs immediately began to swell, bulging out and filling the entire eye socket. Its body convulsed violently, like that of an epileptic patient. If it hadn't lost its limbs, Xin Yan would have been unable to hold it down and would have been torn to pieces by this terrifying man-eating monster.

Su Hao watched the zombie intently, pressing the constantly writhing head with his left hand while quickly taking out another prepared empty syringe from his backpack. He forcefully inserted the needle, at least fifteen centimeters long and thick and hard, into the back of the zombie's head, pulled the plunger back hard, and drew out a tube of grayish-brown pus.

The zombie continued to howl, and as the mysterious pus was extracted from its head, it lost all strength to struggle, tilting its head, opening its mouth wide, and gradually stiffening.

Watching Su Hao inject the pus into a five-milliliter rubber tube, Xin Yan asked curiously, "What is this?"

"Zombie fungus hormone."

Su Hao's voice was as calm as usual, but Xin Yan could still detect a hint of excitement in it.

Like silver bones, zombie fungus hormone was one of the most important strategic resources in the future world. While dissecting zombies to develop a virus vaccine, future biologists discovered that the pineal gland in a zombie's brain secretes a thick, grayish-brown liquid. Due to the highly active special bacteria in this pus, it quickly became an important additive for potent genetic drugs and biological culture media. These drugs had a wide range of applications, not only enhancing the physical attributes of the user but also activating cells and extending metabolic effects, thus increasing the user's lifespan.

For Su Hao and all future humans, the year 2020, when the virus first erupted, was known as the "Golden Age." The reason was simple—the conditions for producing zombie fungus hormone were extremely stringent, and this period was the easiest and most productive time to collect valuable materials.

All known monsters could be stimulated to produce zombie fungus hormone by stimulating the pineal gland. In the future, zombie hunters typically injected high-purity heroin solution into the monster's central nervous system and extracted the hormone from the head with a syringe during the most intense stimulation. The entire process was exactly the same as what Su Hao had just done. The key part was that the monster must remain alive throughout the process, from the injection of the stimulating solution to the extraction of the hormone, and not die halfway through.

The virus had the ability to evolve, and the infected it parasitized also evolved. According to the concept of the future world, the infected in the early stages of the virus outbreak were the weakest. In the monster classification table, they were at the bottom, mostly rated as "1" or "-1."

In Su Hao's time, low-level monsters had completed their basic evolution. According to official data, the lowest standard for observed creatures in the wild was mostly "3" to "4" levels. Like humans, their bones and muscles had strengthened, and even after being captured and having their limbs cut off, many monsters would still exhibit unbelievable ferocity during the stimulation process. Su Hao had seen more than once how a monster, with its neck clamped by a steel ring, would forcefully twist its spine to commit suicide or bite through the throat of a nearby captor.

Capturing and hunting monsters was simple, but the stimulation process often resulted in accidents. Some people tried using diluted solutions with less intense stimulation effects, but they failed to stimulate the pineal gland to produce hormones.

Zombie fungus hormone was a top-tier strategic resource in the future world. It was extremely expensive and had a very low yield. According to Su Hao's knowledge, even the most powerful military forces collected only about fifty milliliters annually.

Only the lowest-level "-1" or "1" level zombies were the best carriers for producing zombie fungus hormone. However, in the future world, they had either gone extinct or evolved into higher-level monsters.

Su Hao silently gazed at the rubber tube in his hand, his eyes twitching slightly.

Many of his friends had met with misfortune while hunting for zombie fungus hormone. Some were killed by monsters, some by spies, and others died during the extraction process. This grayish-brown pus was incredibly valuable in the future, even more so than the most famous diamonds of the civilized era.

"What's wrong?"

Xin Yan had been watching him. She couldn't explain why she was with this young man she had just met the day before. He was indeed handsome but exuded a very strong and mysterious aura. More importantly, there was a faint but real sense of melancholy, determination, and toughness in his deep black eyes.

"Nothing."

Su Hao didn't indulge in sentiment. He used his strong, hard nerves to forcefully pull back the tears that were about to spill from the edges of his eyes, quickly restoring his stiff, cold exterior.

He carefully put away the rubber tube filled with pus and a rock-like, rigid smile appeared on his lips: "We should find a safe and secure place to stay. This is important, isn't it?"

Xin Yan nodded silently, then suddenly felt something was off.

They were still strangers, yet they were about to live together...

The girl felt a bit lost, wanting to object but not knowing what to say. Looking up, she saw Su Hao already lifting the fire axe and walking briskly toward the crushed zombie remains on the road.

...

The city was vast and empty, with no crowds of people and few signs of birds. There was no wind, and the atmosphere was quieter than ever.

Abandoned vehicles were scattered everywhere on the streets, mostly crashed into each other. Several intersections were blocked by vehicles, many of which were tightly jammed, with license plates and bumpers completely dented or even detached. Almost every car contained corpses, both young and old, male and female. Due to the limitations of the car windows and the biological characteristics of the infected, the flesh above the chest of the dead had been eaten away, while the lower limbs were mostly intact. Although the muscles and skin had been consumed by the zombies, the faces of the corpses still bore expressions of horror and fear. In the glaring sunlight, they looked like sculptures made of white bones and dark red flesh.

Blood was everywhere, covering about a third of the ground. Under the scorching heat, it had long since coagulated and gradually turned black.

In the distance, faint screams could be heard, intermittent and indistinct, making it hard to tell where they were coming from. They seemed both near and far, indicating that the city's residents had not all died and that some survivors still remained.

On the horizon, where the heat waves rose, figures could be seen moving. The images were thin and blurry, just indistinct black dots, making it impossible to tell if they were humans or zombies. They seemed lost, looking around, wandering as if they had no idea where they were.

Su Hao felled another zombie, quickly injecting a high-concentration heroin solution into its blood vessels. He firmly held the head of the limbless zombie and accurately extracted the zombie fungus hormone from the back of its head, his excitement and satisfaction evident as he put the hormone-filled rubber tube into his pocket.

In a metal box filled with black foam, twenty-six rubber tubes filled with hormone and an equal number of silver bone particles in a tube bottle were neatly arranged. All of this was his harvest in just two hours.

A total of 130 milliliters of zombie fungus hormone and about 60 milligrams of silver bone.

This was an enormous wealth. In the future world, these items could be exchanged for a general's rank or control of several large bases. Because, as zombies evolved to the second level, their nerves and muscles also strengthened, and the stimulation effect of the heroin solution far exceeded normal limits. The extremely tense brain would collapse, and the muscles and tendons would burst due to violent expansion.

This was an unsolvable problem—insufficient solution concentration would not stimulate the pineal gland to produce hormones, and intense stimulation would cause the monster to die on the spot, altering the hormone composition or making it impossible to extract. Under normal circumstances, the success rate of extraction was about one in two million, or even less.

Within no more than two years, the values of the human world would be completely overturned. What Su Hao needed to do now was to accumulate as much capital as possible. After all, this was the easiest and most productive golden period for obtaining zombie fungus hormone.

Swallowing the silver bone with mineral water felt like taking a sugar-coated pill. This substance, though seemingly hard, was easily dissolved by stomach acid. He had calculated that, combined with the amount he had taken the previous day, the effect of the silver bone would be enough to enter the second stage of bone reinforcement.

The effect of bone modification was very obvious—Su Hao could already feel his strength increasing, and his body's flexibility and agility were better than before. He could now use the fire axe with one hand, and his arm and wrist strength were even greater than that of the infected. Even when facing three zombies at once, Su Hao was confident he could kill them without injury.

However, silver bone could not have the same effect on muscles. To become an enhanced human, he needed muscle reinforcement drugs. The reason Su Hao chose this city as the landing point for the time-space beacon was precisely for this.

But before that, he needed a sufficiently safe place to stay.

...

On the wide roadside, there was a three-story, elegant building. A four-meter-high iron fence and well-maintained landscaping separated this small building from the surrounding tall, gray buildings, giving it a dignified and elegant appearance. At the top of the eaves facing the road hung a special round coin symbol of a bank.

Su Hao had carefully studied the ancient city planning map. According to the relevant data, this was a branch office of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in the city. Unlike ordinary business outlets, its main function was to handle the recovery and concentration of the city's obsolete currency. After counting and calculating, the currency would be destroyed by regulatory personnel. This confidential-level work meant that the office could not be casually rented like a regular business hall. The building was independently constructed by the bank, with various building materials configured for high protection. In particular, the walls and foundation, as the main supports, met the five-level earthquake resistance standard.

The car was parked by the roadside. Su Hao cautiously observed the surroundings, confirming there were no abnormalities, and then, holding an axe and a gun in each hand, slowly passed through the open glass door and entered the spacious first-floor hall.

It was deathly silent, the oppressive atmosphere almost suffocating.

In front of the hall was a standing reception platform over twenty meters long, designed similarly to a hotel, with smooth polished tiles covered in blood. Next to the stairs lay a woman's corpse, her face unrecognizable from being gnawed. If not for the high heels scattered near her feet, it would have been impossible to determine her gender.

Su Hao bent over, quickly crossing the hall, and found a small door leading to the backyard. Confirming the exit was clear and there were no signs of zombies, he firmly latched the door and returned to the front hall, nodding to Xin Yan, who was waiting there. She immediately opened her backpack, took out two chain locks from the hardware store, and tightly secured them to the handles on both sides of the glass door.

Including the bathroom, there were only six rooms on the first floor, filled with various office supplies. The only living things were the flies buzzing around the blood and flesh remains.

Su Hao didn't waste time. He locked the door to the underground vault with a soft lock, called Xin Yan over, and dragged a sofa and a cabinet to block the stairs on both sides, leaving only a one-meter-wide exit.

"Now, we need to clear each room on each floor."

Looking at the steel pipe tightly held in the girl's hand and the dagger hanging from her waist, Su Hao said seriously, "Don't be afraid! Zombies are only interested in living beings. The chaos yesterday has attracted them to other parts of the city. This is not a public place, so there won't be many zombies left in the building. Stay close to me, don't shout randomly, watch your back and sides, and I will protect you."

Xin Yan was covered in dirt and sweat, her face grayer than usual. Her hair was tangled with cobwebs, and her stockings had several tears. She nodded forcefully, looking a bit tense.

Su Hao suddenly smiled, reached out, and pinched Xin Yan's cheek, rubbing it maliciously.

This action was completely unexpected, and the girl's eyes widened in shock, quickly turning to anger. Before she could react, Su Hao had already let go, put his finger to his lips, looked upstairs, and gave her a kind smile.

Even he couldn't explain why he had joked with Xin Yan at this moment.

This body was young, only twenty-one years old. But his true mental age was over forty.

Perhaps this was a sign that he trusted the girl?

Or was it a release of his long-suppressed nature?

Su Hao put away his smile, gripped his weapon, and slowly climbed the stairs.

He had just said: He would protect her.

...

The hallway was carpeted, thick and soft, giving a very comfortable feeling underfoot.

Su Hao used the most brutal method, swinging the fire axe to smash the door lock and entering the first room.

Unlike the office area on the first floor, the interior decoration here was identical to that of a high-end hotel room, even more luxurious. The mattress and carpet were famous brands of the era, and the wooden wine cabinet was neatly arranged with "XO" and "Moutai." The condoms on the bedside table were not the common "Hero" or "Healthy," but beautifully packaged, high-spec "Durex."

There were no zombies, and the room was clean, with a faint fragrance in the air.

Xin Yan looked at the expensive bottles in the wine cabinet with some resentment. If she could, she would have preferred to see instant noodles and sausages, or even a pack of Fuling pickles.

Room 201 was safe.

Room 202 was safe.

Room 203 was also fine...

Xin Yan followed closely, pursing her lips and silently observing the surroundings, also secretly glancing at Su Hao walking in front of her with some dissatisfaction.

She knew she was very beautiful and was a target of many male students' pursuit at the college. Last year, a tall, handsome music major, who somewhat resembled the Korean singer Rain, had blocked her in front of the dormitory building, declaring that he would be her boyfriend. The guy was smooth-talking and even tried to be cool, posing in what he thought was a cool way, which made her furious. Without hesitation, she had smashed him on the head with a hot water bottle... After that, all the male heartthrobs avoided her.

...

...

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