Chapter 27 – Challenge Continued

Volume 1: Apocalypse Beginning

Wan An did not dare to be careless, slowly raising his Hunting Rifle.

A Zombie with 3 points of constitution already warranted the use of his main weapon. After all, close combat could easily lead to accidents.

Wan An's eyes were locked tightly on the running Zombie. As the distance between them shrank, when only three meters remained, Wan An fiercely pulled the trigger.

F-Rank skill, Precision, activated. Greatly increases the hit rate of ranged weapons.

At a distance of three meters, combined with the skill, there was virtually no chance of missing.

"Boom." The deafening roar of the homemade Hunting Rifle shook his eardrums. Wan An sidestepped, dodging the Zombie that lunged straight at him.

After the Zombie crashed to the ground, it struggled violently, but seemed to be stunned by the immense power of the Hunting Rifle.

The homemade Hunting Rifle had clearly been modified; its tremendous force blasted directly into the Zombie's head. Although it wasn't a one-hit kill, the Zombie's face was blown to pieces.

Wan An quickly reloaded, walked straight up to the Zombie, and fired another shot into the back of its head.

The Zombie twitched twice on the ground, then stopped moving altogether.

Seeing Wan An succeed in the challenge, his teammates below the Arena breathed a sigh of relief. Wan Ping shouted up to his brother on the Arena, "Wan An, come down!"

"Challenge successful. Reward: one bottle of Primary Healing Potion. Would you like to challenge the next stage?"

Wan An didn't even think about it and immediately shouted, "Give up!" Then, with a flash of light, Wan An appeared among his companions.

He handed the newly acquired Protective Suit to Lin Li. Wan An said directly, "That was really dangerous just now. If the Zombie had pounced on me, I'd be dead. The next stage is already beyond what I can handle."

"Yeah, and the challenge is only getting harder. To be safe, Tao-Ge can try the fourth stage, but Lin Li and I can only stop at the third. Besides, the fourth stage probably isn't the final one. For us, the Ultimate Treasure is likely out of reach." Wan Ping analyzed calmly, then shook his head in disappointment.

"This brother, if you're not going to challenge, our team will continue." Guan Tao said to Wen Yu. Since the Ultimate Treasure was out of reach, it didn't matter whether it was sooner or later.

"You guys go ahead, don't mind me."

Wen Yu saw the rewards for the first three stages and couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment.

The only thing worth robbing was the Primary Healing Potion. These people were too weak, and the gains were too small.

After a brief discussion, Guan Tao's group decided that the next challenger would be Lin Li.

As a Mage, Lin Li's post-class skill was F-Rank Swiftness, which could temporarily boost the target's movement speed-but only for three seconds.

After Lin Li stepped onto the Arena, he challenged two stages and then immediately stepped down.

Clearly, he was someone who cherished his life and was timid, afraid of any accidents.

Wen Yu watched as Wan Ping, like Wan An, challenged three stages and then left the Arena, feeling somewhat disappointed.

With just these few people, it was impossible to gauge the true depth of the challenge stages.

Guan Tao nodded gravely to his teammates. "I'll go."

"With your strength, Tao-Ge, you should be able to challenge a few more stages. But don't be reckless-once the challenge starts, if you fail, you're dead."

"Yeah, I know." Guan Tao, rarely, did not joke.

As the strongest member of this squad, Wen Yu was somewhat interested in him. This level represented the current high-end combat power among human survivors. He couldn't help but turn his gaze to the Arena.

Guan Tao's physical attributes were at 4 points, and judging by his physique, he had clearly been an athletic fanatic even before the Apocalypse began.

Guan Tao entered the Arena, sweeping through three stages in a row. After obtaining the Primary Healing Potion, he relaxed his body slightly, picked up the rewarded Steel Blade, and gripped it with both hands.

"Would you like to challenge the next stage?"

"Yes." Guan Tao did not hesitate.

"Challenge begins: Stage Four, three Level 1 Primary Zombies."

A flash of white light, and the challenge targets slowly appeared before everyone's eyes-three Level 1 Primary Zombies.

Guan Tao, faced with three Level 1 Zombies, couldn't help but take a defensive stance.

The Zombies, smelling the scent of flesh and blood, had eyes corroded by Demon Qi that were almost useless. Their pale pupils stared intently at Guan Tao.

With a low growl, the three Zombies lunged at Guan Tao at high speed.

"Two with 3 points, one with 4 points," Wen Yu immediately judged as he saw the Zombies' movements.

Guan Tao let out a roar. The Steel Blade, which had been held horizontally in front of his chest in his right hand, slashed out at lightning speed, directly aiming for the head of the fastest-charging Level 1 Zombie. At the same time, his left hand held a blade to defend against the Zombie's claw strike.

This Level 1 Zombie with 4 attribute points had already awakened part of its instincts. As the Steel Blade, carrying tremendous force, came at it, the Zombie tilted its head, and the blade swiftly sliced across its cheek, taking with it a blur of rotten flesh and even slicing off an ear.

However, such injuries were barely even flesh wounds for a Zombie. With a low growl, the Zombie opened its mouth wide, its sharp teeth snapping at the close-by Guan Tao. Meanwhile, the other two Zombies had also closed in on him.

In an instant, the situation turned into Guan Tao being surrounded by three Zombies.

"Tao-Ge!!" From below the Arena, Guan Tao's teammates cried out in panic as they saw him surrounded by Zombies.

Guan Tao watched as the foul-smelling mouth in front of him drew closer and closer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other two Zombies reaching for him, and a surge of ferocity welled up in his heart.

This man, by nature, possessed a desperate spirit. In times of peace, such a person might be called a madman, but in the Apocalypse, this was the mark of a strong one.

Guan Tao simply ignored the two Zombies behind him. With a swift motion, he withdrew the Steel Blade that had been blocking the Zombie's claws with his left hand, allowing the Zombie in front of him to rake a deep bloody gash across his chest. Then, with a quick thrust, he stabbed the left-hand blade into the Zombie's chest, the tremendous resistance pushing the Zombie's gaping mouth-about to bite his neck-back by several inches.

Then, with his right hand, the Steel Blade swept across the Zombie's head, decapitating it on the spot.

Immediately after, Guan Tao felt a sharp pain in his shoulder-the Zombie on his left had bitten down hard on his shoulder.

The immense bite force allowed the Zombie's teeth to pierce straight through the Protective Suit, clamping viciously onto Guan Tao's bone. Guan Tao could even hear the sound of his bones grinding against the Zombie's teeth.

Ignoring the searing pain in his body, Guan Tao lifted his leg and kicked the other Zombie that was about to attack. With twice the physical strength, the chest of the Level 1 Zombie caved in instantly, sending it flying three meters away.

"Ah!" Guan Tao threw away the Steel Blade in his right hand, grabbed the Zombie clinging to him by the neck with his now free right hand, and, using immense strength, tore it off, pulling out a handful of blood and flesh. He then flung the Zombie away and stomped its head to a pulp.

His left hand was already injured, but by trading injury for injury, Guan Tao quickly turned the tide.

Now, only a single Level 1 Zombie with 3 attribute points remained.

"Roar."

The last Zombie lunged at him again. In the eyes of a Zombie, there was no concept of a companion's death or difference in strength-only the scent of fresh flesh.

Guan Tao didn't even bother with the weapon on the ground. With another kick, he sent the Zombie flying, its chest bursting open and foul-smelling organs spilling everywhere.

Guan Tao followed up, kicking the fallen Zombie far away once more.

Then he stepped forward and kicked again.

Wen Yu watched Guan Tao's brutal actions. The fight was already over; Guan Tao was simply slaughtering now.

"I didn't expect this guy to have such a twisted side." On the Arena, Guan Tao's combat strength was nothing in Wen Yu's eyes.

But that reckless, death-defying aura, and the deeply hidden combat instincts beneath his wild exterior, piqued Wen Yu's interest.

"This squad is quite interesting." If this squad hadn't died in the previous life, Wen Yu probably wouldn't have had a chance to interact with them.