Chapter 21 – Promotion Trial

Volume 1: Apocalypse Beginning

Wang Zhigang watched as his great enemy was finally avenged, and the hatred in his eyes slowly faded away. Leaning against the wall, he gradually stood up and nodded to Wen Yu.

"I thought you were dead. Surviving such a huge explosion-your luck is something else."

Seeing Wang Zhigang unharmed, Wen Yu was happy to tease him a bit.

"When the explosives went off, that Giant Rat helped shield me from most of the shockwave. Plus, the delayed detonation gave me enough time to dodge, so I survived."

Wang Zhigang explained.

Thinking back to the battle just now, it was when Wang Zhigang was about to enter the storage area that he came face to face with the Level 2 Rat King.

Only when they fought did he realize that the Rat King's physical attributes weren't overwhelmingly superior to his own.

After all, rats are inherently limited; their species rarely produces truly powerful individuals. These mutant creatures mainly rely on numbers to win.

Wang Zhigang, agile and quick, lit the fuse of the earthen explosives while maneuvering around the Rat King. Drawing on his early experience as a demolition expert, he found the spot with the least shockwave. With the Rat King absorbing most of the blast, he managed to escape with his life.

Looking into Wang Zhigang's eyes, no longer dull as before, Wen Yu saw that with his vengeance fulfilled, Wang Zhigang was slowly regaining his spirit.

"Do you have any plans next? Don't tell me you're still thinking about suicide?"

Honestly, after just half a day together, Wen Yu had a good impression of Wang Zhigang. The man was smart, capable, lucky, and most importantly, had no attachments. Wen Yu suddenly considered forming a small team.

"No, surviving here made me realize-I don't want to die anymore."

"I need to go back and find my colleagues. The plan to lure the Zombies cost them dearly. Without me, I'm afraid something might happen to them."

Wang Zhigang thought carefully and replied.

Wen Yu, who had been considering recruiting a teammate, was defeated by Wang Zhigang's answer. He'd thought this guy had no attachments, but Wang Zhigang immediately found one.

"Alright, let's head up first. This place could collapse at any moment."

Wen Yu stopped thinking about forming a team and went straight upstairs, with Wang Zhigang staggering after him.

Wen Yu picked up a large bag of Magic Crystals and poured them all out onto the open ground, carefully counting them.

Sixty-seven in total, most of them mixed-attribute Magic Crystals, but even these are much better than the non-attribute ones.

"Old Wang, come split the loot."

Wen Yu called out to Wang Zhigang, who was standing by the Exchange Pillar, having just traded for a bottle of Primary Healing Potion.

Wang Zhigang looked carefully at Wen Yu, then at the pile of Magic Crystals.

"The original plan was for me to die and you to avenge me. These Magic Crystals weren't supposed to be mine. You should keep them."

"Old Wang, you're wrong. I have my rules: in a fight, you get what you earn. That's the rule. You contributed the most this time, so all of these are yours. I'll just take one Level 2 Magic Crystal-that's already a great deal for me. I can be unreasonable sometimes, but I always stick to my rules."

Wang Zhigang looked into Wen Yu's eyes-clear, bright, and determined.

"Thank you," Wang Zhigang said to Wen Yu.

"You're welcome." Wen Yu looked at the Magic Crystals before him, but felt no regret. These Magic Crystals were useless to him, and Wen Yu never hesitated to part with things he didn't need.

Besides, letting Old Wang owe him a favor was definitely worth it. With Wang Zhigang's abilities, he might become a prominent figure in M City someday. This was an investment.

Silently, they walked out of the Police Station and watched as the sun slowly cast its light across the sky.

"By the way, my name is Wen Yu."

"I'll remember you."

…

After finding a clean spot to rest for a while, Wen Yu felt his strength return.

Stretching lazily, Wen Yu quickly checked his attributes.

Peak Level 1, including his Soul Beast, which had also advanced to Peak Level 1. In just one night, Wen Yu's combat power had made a qualitative leap.

Looking out at the blazing sun, Wen Yu grabbed his War Blade.

Evolution is endless. At present, relying on his Soul Master profession, Wen Yu is fully capable of challenging the Promotion Trial. Once successful, Wen Yu can sign a contract with a second Soul Pet, and his Soul Beast will also gain a second skill.

However, this is not simple.

The content of the Promotion Trial is straightforward: defeat a newly promoted Level 2 Mutant in a one-on-one battle.

Both sides have the same basic attributes, but the Level 2 Mutant has one more skill than the challenger.

Therefore, those who pass the trial are absolutely powerful fighters or people with rare treasures.

For Wen Yu, this is very simple.

Attribute crushing in Combat State allows Wen Yu to pass easily.

The real problem Wen Yu faces now is the Points required for the Promotion Trial.

1,000 Points-very simple. Last night alone, Wen Yu earned more than 2,000 Points.

But where else is there a massive Zombie horde for Wen Yu to farm Points?

Looking at his remaining less than 300 Points, Wen Yu suddenly felt the weight of the task ahead.

"No more thinking about this. Better stick to the original plan and check out the Treasure Land at Riverside Park."

Thinking of that Treasure Land, Wen Yu couldn't help but feel excited. With his current strength, no other human could possibly compete with him.

…

Riverside Park is located in the center of Mudanjiang City.

As a park in the city center, the flow of people is naturally enormous.

Although Wen Yu was mentally prepared for this, he couldn't help but feel weak in the knees when he saw the Zombie horde before him.

What lay before Wen Yu was a mass of Zombies moving in groups. In terms of sheer numbers, it might not be as large as the horde at the Police Station.

However, the proportion of Level 1 Zombies here was frighteningly high. On average, for every three Zombies, one was a Level 1 Zombie. Moreover, it was obvious that some of these Level 1 Zombies were not newly promoted.

Sharp claws, jagged fangs, and terrifying numbers-Wen Yu knew that his Protective Suit would offer him no sense of safety in front of Level 1 Zombies.

If the Protective Suit couldn't defend against the damage from Zombies, the massive horde would tear him to pieces, even if Level 1 Zombies were like ants before Wen Yu.

Looking at the scattered bloodstains on the ground, these were all left from the beginning of the Apocalypse.

Only in a place like this, with such a huge flow of people, could so many Level 1 Zombies be spawned.

…

Standing on the top floor of a nearby residential building, Wen Yu carefully observed the movement patterns of the Zombies.

Zombies are interesting creatures. If not attracted by the scent of food, they generally don't wander around but stay put to conserve energy.

But the Zombies near the park were a bit different. Logically, there should be many mutant animals inside the park, yet the Zombies near the park never enter its interior-the boundary between the two is clear.

Wen Yu watched for dozens of minutes and sighed helplessly.

The Zombies were too densely packed. If a fight broke out here, it would be like pulling a single thread and unraveling the whole thing. Wen Yu couldn't guarantee he could escape the pursuit of such a massive number of Level 1 Zombies.

Once he got close to the park, the Zombies would spot him, and once discovered, it would be a fight to the death.

The situation before him had reached a stalemate.

Wen Yu began to think slowly.

The information he obtained in his previous life proved that someone had definitely entered this Treasure Land. Yet, he had never heard of any Zombie horde situation here.

But now, it seemed the horde had not been dispersed at all. That meant only one thing: when the Treasure Land opened, something changed, allowing survivors to avoid the horde and rush inside.

Wen Yu casually found some food in the house downstairs and squinted his eyes, staring intently at the Zombie horde.

"Tonight, the Treasure Land will open. In my previous life, I never heard anything about a Zombie horde here. It seems something must change during this period."

Wen Yu quietly stayed in the corner. As time passed, his heart grew ever calmer.