Chapter 1 – Awakening

Volume 2: Battlefield Between Two Worlds

With Simba's departure, the Mudanjiang City toll station returned to its former tranquility.

But that peace was quickly shattered. A Zombie staggered out, crouched on the ground, and carefully licked at the blood that had not yet dried.

The blood on the ground belonged to Wen Yu.

Then came the second, the third…

Countless Zombies slowly approached, all drawn by the scent of Wen Yu's blood, having chased it all the way here.

Simba may have stopped chasing, but these mindless Zombies never give up.

A horde of Zombies followed the trail of Wen Yu's spilled blood, their shambling steps gradually closing in on his location.

…

Wen Yu felt as if he were dreaming. In the dream, he rode atop a giant dragon, commanding the skies, summoning countless terrifying beasts with a wave of his hand. He watched as the massive summoned creatures swallowed the Demon Tide, listened to the worship and praise of the survivors below, and couldn't help but chuckle foolishly.

Then, the dream ended.

The silly laughter tugged at his wound, and the pain reminded Wen Yu that his earlier invincibility was nothing but a fantasy-reality was cruel.

The wound had completely stopped bleeding. The hideous, terrifying gash showed a sickly white color, and under the effect of Strong Healing, Wen Yu could even see new flesh sprouting from the huge wound on his abdomen.

Enduring the intense pain and itching, Wen Yu carefully observed his surroundings. The guardroom was small and very clean, and outside, the sky was already turning pale.

A whole night had passed.

The Soul Beast inside his body kept sending messages of "hunger." Only then did Wen Yu realize he had been fused with the Soul Beast for nearly five hours, and the Little Soul Beast was now utterly exhausted.

But the Level 2 Little Soul Beast could clearly sense its master's dire condition and was still barely maintaining its Combat State.

Wen Yu's heart softened, and he quickly ended the Combat State.

Watching as the Little Soul Beast appeared once again on his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek affectionately, Wen Yu felt a surge of warmth. "At critical moments, you're always the most reliable."

Staggering down from the bed, Wen Yu walked straight out of the guardroom.

The factory compound was large, but strangely, there was no sign of any Zombies.

Wen Yu ignored this oddity and headed directly toward the nearby Exchange Pillar.

There were two Exchange Pillars in this small factory compound.

"Check Points."

"Ding, remaining Points: 971." It seemed he had taken out quite a few Zombies while fleeing.

"Exchange Intermediate Healing Potion."

"Exchange successful, 500 Points consumed."

Seeing the Intermediate Healing Potion appear on the Exchange Pillar, Wen Yu twisted off the cap and drank it down in one gulp.

His wound healed rapidly before his eyes. The intense itching made Wen Yu scratch at the wound, but there was no pain-just a piece of congealed scab coming off.

"This effect is really impressive." Wen Yu saw that his injuries no longer hindered his movement and immediately broke into a wide grin. In his previous life, he'd never used anything this advanced-the results were truly outstanding.

"Right, there's still One-Eye." Now that his survival was assured, Wen Yu immediately thought of the greatest contributor to his escape from Simba's clutches.

Wen Yu immersed his consciousness into the Soul Pet space and instantly saw One-Eye's massive figure.

The bones of the once-missing lower half had already grown back, and under the shine of the purple light, revolting strands of flesh kept emerging. Even on One-Eye's face, the eye that had been lost in childhood was slowly regenerating.

"Tsk tsk tsk, now that's what I call healing." Comparing the recovery speed, Wen Yu immediately felt that the Intermediate Healing Potion was utter trash by comparison.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me?" Seeing One-Eye's body twitching nonstop as the wounds healed, Wen Yu asked with concern.

The good eye cracked open a little, and then the massive dog head looked around, seemingly trying to find out where the voice was coming from.

Seeing that One-Eye was awake, Wen Yu suddenly felt like joking around: "It's me, your neighbor. But now, I'm your master. Come on, give me a bark to cheer me up."

Hearing Wen Yu's teasing, One-Eye rolled his eye dramatically, let out a huge yawn, and lay back down, unmoving.

This time, Wen Yu couldn't help but blush. Strictly speaking, there was no subordinate relationship between a Soul Master and a Soul Pet. Through the bond of a contract, the two formed an emotional connection akin to blood relations-one even more reliable than slavery.

At this moment, One-Eye was like family to Wen Yu. Just seeing One-Eye's massive wounds had made Wen Yu's heart ache.

"Don't worry, it won't be long before we go back and get revenge on Simba."

Wen Yu silently made up his mind.

Inside the Second Soul Realm, it was as if One-Eye sensed Wen Yu's determination. His eye opened slightly, and a flash of brutal killing intent glimmered in his gaze, vanishing in an instant. One-Eye would never forget Simba's humiliation and harm.

"Wuu, wuu. Wuu, wuu."

Hearing the whimpering at the factory gate, Wen Yu turned his head suddenly, just in time to see a Zombie appear at the entrance-then a second, a third, and more and more followed.

"Man, there really is never a moment's peace." Wen Yu was just about to grab his Steel Blade and take care of these disgusting things when suddenly, an even louder commotion sounded farther away.

"Bang!" In the distance, a large truck crashed hard into the Zombie horde, sending the ones in front flying. The truck quickly reversed away.

At the same time, a few private cars appeared behind. All of them were packed with people.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" A middle-aged man holding a Steel Blade and a makeshift wooden shield scrambled out of the truck, bashing a Zombie aside with the shield. The immense force exploded the Zombie's head on the spot.

Class Holders from the cars jumped out quickly, swinging their weapons at the Zombies without pause.

There was no order to their attacks; it was clearly a group of ordinary people. Yet the ferocity and utter lack of fear in every face made Wen Yu realize that this group had fully adapted to the survival environment of the Apocalypse.

"Hurry up! Hey, you over there-yeah, you! Why are you still standing dumbly by the Exchange Pillar? Get over here, quick!" Seeing the Zombie horde growing, the middle-aged man with the wooden shield shouted at Wen Yu.

"Huh? Me?" Catching sight of the man's anxious expression, Wen Yu quickly realized they were trying to save him. Without telling them he wasn't afraid of Zombies at all, he ran over at once.