Chapter 1 – Weirdos and Monsters

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

Zhang Xiao sprinted forward frantically, trying to evade the attacks coming from behind him.

It was honestly pathetic. He had set his sights on a small supermarket that hadn't been "looted" yet. One had to understand that it had been over a month since the start of the Apocalypse. Finding an unlooted supermarket in the city center was practically a blessing from the Buddha himself!

Yes, Zhang Xiao was a believer.

However, the Buddha did not protect Zhang Xiao-at least, not until the end.

While Zhang Xiao was desperately stuffing items into his backpack, he happened to notice a young boy standing at the entrance.

The boy looked less than ten years old. At that age, in Zhang Xiao's eyes, he posed zero threat!

So, Zhang Xiao made a shushing gesture at the boy, but he never expected…

"Brothers! Someone's fucking trying to rob our stash! Grab your gear and kill him!"

To Zhang Xiao's stunned disbelief, a large group of teenagers and children swarmed out from every corner of the small alley!

Their filthy appearances and clothes couldn't hide the true nature of these little brats!

These children were actually all Level 1 Class Holders!

God only knew how kids this small managed to kill Zombies and Mutant Beasts. Did they jump up to smash the Zombies' heads?

The mental image was just too much to handle!

Before Zhang Xiao could even react, all sorts of Skills, along with flying kitchen knives and stones, came hurtling toward him!

"This is so fucking pathetic!"

Looking at the endless stream of "ranged attacks" behind him, Zhang Xiao was utterly helpless!

It was a simple truth: you couldn't judge a Class Holder's combat strength by their age. As a Level 1 Class Holder himself, he was alone!

The Kid Army of Level 1s behind him numbered more than ten!

Even if an adult was indeed much stronger than a child under the same Physical Attribute, it wasn't nearly enough to make up for the gap in numbers!

Zhang Xiao had no choice but to run!

Fortunately, as an adult male, Zhang Xiao's legs were at least longer than those of the children!

Longer legs meant running faster.

When Zhang Xiao was forced to toss his backpack away, the Kid Army finally stopped their pursuit.

A high-pitched but serious shout echoed from behind him.

"Next time you fucking dare to come onto our turf, I'll beat the shit out of you!"

"I'm not going to lower myself to the level of a bunch of brats!"

Zhang Xiao lowered his head and muttered to himself… or rather, he was just trying to comfort himself.

But as Zhang Xiao surveyed his surroundings, he finally realized why that group of brats had stopped chasing him.

"I fucking ran into the Mountain Forest…"

…

"Hey, hero, let's talk this out."

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xiao emerged from the woods and spoke with a bitter smile to the group of brats who were standing their ground, brandishing their weapons.

Zhang Xiao had no other choice. Originally, this area wasn't a Mountain Forest, but with the rapid expansion of Mutant Plants, this former suburban area had long been covered in green!

And as long as an area was covered in green, it was a forbidden zone for humans!

Just as the Steel-forged cities were forbidden zones for Mutant Beasts!

Although it hadn't been long since the Apocalypse began, strict boundaries were slowly forming!

And they would inevitably become even stricter!

Because this was the fundamental reason why a large-scale war between humans and Mutant Beasts had not yet broken out!

Hearing Zhang Xiao's words, the leading youth gave a contemptuous smile.

"What? Not running anymore? Go ahead, keep running. I won't chase you!"

Seeing the youth size him up, Zhang Xiao gave a bitter smile.

Human adaptability was incredibly strong!

In less than two months, it was enough time to establish a set of orders that didn't need to be spoken aloud-or rather, a set of unspoken rules.

Zhang Xiao quietly placed the Steel Blade in his hand on the ground and took a deep breath.

"Hero, here's the toll."

The youth in front of him looked Zhang Xiao's Protective Suit up and down, speaking with a forced air of maturity.

"Not enough!"

"Don't you fucking push it! You even want my Protective Suit? Do you have any idea how long it took me to save up for just two pieces of equipment? Even the Entry Fee for the Central City Settlement isn't as extortionate as you lot!"

Zhang Xiao practically jumped in outrage!

…

Ten minutes later.

Zhang Xiao stood where he was, stark naked. His Steel Blade and Protective Suit lay on the ground.

The boy leading the group nodded.

"We're going to escort you out. Any objections?"

Zhang Xiao naturally had no objections to that.

Of course, he didn't harbor much resentment either.

This kind of thing was something every group in the city did; it was an unspoken rule that couldn't be brought into the light. Alone, he had no way to stand against these people, even if they were just a Kid Army living on the very edge of the city!

"No problem. I know the rules, but I hope you'll stick to them too!"

Zhang Xiao nodded.

"Of course. We aren't as shameless as you adults!"

The boy leading them rolled his eyes.

"Fine!"

Zhang Xiao took a deep breath. Just as he was about to walk out of the Mountain Forest, a hand unexpectedly slapped his shoulder!

"Holy shit, save me!"

The sudden touch gave Zhang Xiao no time to distinguish what kind of creature had grabbed him. The instincts he had honed in the short time since the Apocalypse began sent him sprinting toward the Kid Army.

After all, compared to the unknown, the children in front of him were more reliable.

As Zhang Xiao drew closer to the Kid Army, he slowly realized that the children were far calmer than he was.

Only then did Zhang Xiao turn around to look at the creature that had suddenly touched him.

Clearly, it was a person.

Though his clothes were a bit dirty and his hair was long and messy, he was indeed a human!

Thinking about how he had been scared into jumping around by a single person-and in his panic, hadn't even properly covered his 'little brother'-Zhang Xiao's heart filled with rage!

He was just about to scream at the freak who had appeared out of nowhere when the Kid Leader beat him to the punch.

"Hey, you! The guy who just came out of the woods. If you want to pass through here, you have to pay a toll!"

"A toll?" 

The strange man spoke.

"How much money?"

"Tch!"

The Kid Leader sneered.

"What kind of relic are you? Who uses money these days? I'm talking about Magic Crystals. Do you even know what a Magic Crystal is?"

"Oh, I know what Magic Crystals are."

After speaking, the strange man slowly walked forward, scanning his surroundings as he moved.

"By the way, this is Mudanjiang City, right?"

Perhaps it was the man's calm demeanor that left everyone confused. The Kid Leader hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"The changes are really quite drastic!"

A sigh escaped the strange man's lips. Then, a loud commotion erupted from the woods behind him!

And it was loud!

Under everyone's shocked gazes, a Big Dog nearly ten meters tall emerged from the Mountain Forest!

Ten meters tall-at this height, it was even taller than the trees at the edge of the forest!

Its short, grayish-white fur stood up like steel needles. A Mutated wild boar was clamped in its hideous, massive maw. Perched on the Big Dog's head was a black creature that looked like a Little Lizard.

"Mon… Monster!"

Zhang Xiao and the large group of children stared wide-eyed at the sudden appearance of One-Eye. They gasped in unison, and those with less courage collapsed onto the ground!

"What fucking level is this Mutated Beast?!"

Zhang Xiao looked at the strange man, who remained calm, and then at the Big Dog quietly following behind him. He swallowed hard.

"Right, about that toll you mentioned… exactly how much do you want? If it's too much, I can't afford it!"