《Reincarnated as a Dog with System》 Chapter 1: Reborn, but I am a dog? A beautiful young girl curled up on the floor, twitching in pain. Her delicate phoenix-like eyes cringed in agony, with all of its beauty and mirth drained completely. Qin Hua tried her best to struggle against the inevitable, but tiredness started setting in. She was tired, really tired from struggling her entire life. If only her mother was alive, maybe her life could have been different. Her dad wouldn''t have remarried and she wouldn''t have a stepmother and stepsister, who literally made it their life''s aim to make her miserable. They did everything to push her away, to ostracize her, and finally even managed to kick her out of the family. But Qin Hua still persisted. She gritted her teeth and worked hard every second of the day to win a prestigious scholarship for medical school. Her life would have finally turned around. Even if everything else in her life was ruined, if she somehow managed to become a successful surgeon, then she was confident that she could earn back all the name and family love she had lost. Or at least that''s what she thought... However, the vicious stepmother and stepdaughter pair did not even leave her that sliver of a chance... 1.1.2020, 0:01 am Qin Hua laid on the ground twitching from the effects of the poison she had just consumed. She was happy that her estranged family had finally invited her to a new year''s celebration, but unfortunately, they had other plans for her. "Why?" Qin Hua managed to get a word out, with her bloodshot eyes staring at her father. "Heh. You don''t know right? That old bastard passed away." Her father''s cold eyes looked apathetically at her almost dead body. What grandfather is dead? Qin Hua shuddered. Tears whelmed in her lifeless eyes. "Hmph. That old bastard even dared to leave everything in your name!" "If you want to blame someone for your pathetic state, blame him. Otherwise, why would we even look for you? Qin Hua stared at her cold-blooded family, as her mouth frothed and she took her last breath. 1.1.2020, 0:05 am At almost the same time as Qin Hua''s listless empty body slumped on the ground, an invisible wave of myriad energies swept over the entire planet. Amidst the loud and pompous new year celebrations, the earth silently started rotating at a higher speed. Countless invisible wisps of mystical energy descended on the planet. A few places even experienced earthquakes of minor magnitudes. However, in the next few seconds, everything quieted down as if nothing out of ordinary had occurred. But unfortunately ... Though everything looked the same, it most definitely was not the same anymore. The Qin family breathed signs of relief as the earthquakes ceased. "Phew. Nothing big." Qin Hua''s father, the Qin family''s current official head, Qin Jinguan adjusted his collar. "Yue, go check her breathing. If she is already dead, get a housekeeper to bury her body in the backyard." Looking at his daughter''s dead body, one last time, Master Qin coldly harrumphed. "Even a dog deserves a decent burial." "Tomorrow is going to be a long day with the lawyers and filing the death report! What a waste of time!" He then yawned and turned in for the night. A few seconds later a couple of housekeepers came around and cleaned up the entire area and everything went back to normal. And just like that... Qin Hua, the Qin family master''s eldest daughter was declared dead due to a natural heart attack. .... But, unbeknownst to them... H city, 1.1.2020, 0:05 am: A warm sensation enveloped Qin Hua''s body. She was confused. Just a minute ago, she was writhing in intense pain and dying? What the hell was happening now? The pain had magically disappeared and her muddled mind slowly cleared up. Soon the harsh reality dawned on her as well. It was very possible that she had already died and was now basking in the warm glow of the pearly gates. She was supposed to feel sad? Maybe? But for some reason, she felt extremely light and happy. Her entire life was one misfortune after another. Qin Hua didn''t really mind that. Everyone''s life had its own ups and downs. What really got to her was her own behavior. What sort of a fucking loser would willingly go and fall for such an obvious trap!!! They had disappointed her, tortured her, and humiliated her over and over again and again, but till the very bitter end, she held on to an impossible dream like a fool, that one day maybe they would change their mind and accept her as well. After all, she was also her father''s own flesh and blood. How idiotic!! Thanks to this stupidity of hers, she even ended up getting killed like a brainless chicken, willingly walking to the butcher''s shop. Qin Hua smiled. That pathetic life of hers was already over and with it, all its unpleasant memories. And now all she had to do was to wait patiently for her new life and her fresh start. Well maybe? After all, Qin Hua was pretty new to the pearly gates of heaven. She had no idea how all of this worked. Tada... Any time now? After waiting for a while, Qin Hua started feeling a bit restless. Waiting patiently in this random fluid-like formless state was very boring. It was worse than sitting silently outside a doctor''s room and patiently waiting for one''s turn. After what seemed like years, the warm sensation slowly started fading away. But much to Qin Hua''s dismay, an intense pain replaced that warm pleasant feeling. What the hell is happening? Where is my fresh start? A loud ringing noise ripped through Qin Hua''s extra sensitive ears. Her head was pulsating in agony and the next instant she fainted. Little did she know that she had already been reborn! That loud ringing noise she heard was nothing but the sound of an empty beer can hitting the trash bin. And the youngster with the perfect aim, who kicked the can that was littering the road, was walking just a few yards away from her. The tall young man stopped for a second. "Do you hear something Chen?" He stopped his friend by putting his one hand forward and signaled him to keep quiet with his other hand on his lips. Hmm? Lu Chen was confused. Lu Chen and Su Yan were high school students and roommates, who were just returning to their apartment after a school new years party. As Su Yan shushed the incessantly chattering Lu Chen next to him, a faint whimper dully sounded from the dark empty alleyway to their right. Su Yan immediately rushed towards the source of the noise. Though it was not visible in the darkness of the night, he had a very worried expression on his face. It sounded like someone or some animal was heavily wounded and crying for help. Su Yan and Lu Chen hurried their footsteps and reached the alleyway corner in a jiffy. Two huge trash bins occupied the small dark space, devoid of any lighting. Su Yan immediately fished out his phone and flipped his torchlight on. And just as they had feared, a small snow-white puppy stared back at them. The poor animal was heavily injured and faintly whimpered in pain. "What do we do now bro? " Lu Chen asked with visible panic in his tone. He hurriedly turned left and right to see if anyone else was around for help. "It''s the middle of the night, on a new year''s eve, which veterinary clinic would even be open now?" Su Yan slowly leaned forward, very cautiously approaching the wounded animal. However, his caution was for naught. The poor puppy was barely conscious and didn''t have enough strength to get defensive or anything of that sort. The thing was barely alive with dark red blood and sticky grease smeared on its snow-white fur. Su Yan carefully bundled the little thing. As he was wrapping the puppy in his jacket, Su Yan suddenly thought of a solution. "Chen, I know a tenant on the 7th floor. That sister is a nurse. Let''s take him there." The two boys ran as fast as they could and reached their apartment in the next few minutes. Good thing they were just a few blocks away. "Happy new year, handsome." A middle-aged woman opened the door with her arms wide open intending to give Su Yan''s lean body a bear hug. But noticing the small injured thing in his arms, she immediately sobered up and signaled the boys to get inside. Chapter 2: Am I lucky or unlucky? Qin Hua lazily yawned and stretched out her arms. Her old mattress for some reason felt more comfortable than usual. "Nnng... That was the best sleep I have had in years. Time to hit the books." Her finals were only three months away and she needed to work hard. All the top-tier universities required a staggeringly high score and it was important for her to get into one. Qin Hua slowly rubbed her eyes and tried to get up. "Hmm?? Something feels weird." Her body felt slightly sluggish and her bones seemed to be frozen in place. And now that she thought about it her eyes also felt extremely tired with her eyelids probably swollen and weighing a dozen pounds at the least... "Hmm?? I don''t remember crying yesterday night?" Qin Hua was confused. Even though swollen eyelids and wet pillow covers were not exactly new to her, she still felt that something was off. "Ahh... Yesterday!!" Her head throbbed as she finally recollected the terrible things that had happened yesterday night at the New Year''s family gathering. "Why did I have to be so damn dumb? Always a weak little damsel in distress!!" Tears whelmed in her eyes as she cried out loud in frustration. Argghhh... Actually, it was more like a... Woof... But she was too tired to notice the weird barking sound. "Wait a second. If I was poisoned yesterday, then how come I am still alive??" "All of it was just a bad dream?? It felt so real though..." While she was still trying to figure things out, her stomach loudly grumbled, instantly pulling her attention to that organ. "Guess everything can wait until after breakfast." As Qin Hua flailed and fumbled about in her bed, trying to get up, a strange new voice sounded near her. "Ai little white are you awake already? How are you feeling today little guy?" An unfamiliar male voice murmured. Huh? What the hell? Why is there a random guy in my bedroom?? Qin Hua started panicking. Maybe her family did not poison her after all. Rather it looked like they had drugged her and sold her off?? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She struggled and tried to open her damn eyes or at least move away from the villain but nothing seemed to budge. Noticing her discomfort, the male voice immediately moved closer to her. And the next instant, something cool and refreshing covered her eyes. Water? Eyedrops? Qin Hua was not sure, but she was able to slightly open her eyes now. Everything looked very vague and hazy, but she could make out some sort of outlines. Qin Hua gasped in surprise. This was definitely not her house, so where was she? As she craned her neck to look around, a pair of eyes met her anxious glare and stared right back at her. It looked like someone was standing next to her. That too so close...? Qin Hua subconsciously reached out with her hands to push the intruder''s face away, when finally the harsh reality struck her. She halted mid-air, frozen in her tracks. Her... her hands?? In the place where her human hand should be, there instead was a small snow-white furry little limb with a paw. Qin Hua stared in a daze and waved her hand around. And surprisingly the paw as well seemed to be moving!! As her eyes darted here and there, examining the small furry limb, something else was gently shoved into her mouth. A sweet liquid slowly trickled down her throat. At first, she wanted to spit it out, but it felt good and more importantly helped calm down her grumbling stomach. So she didn''t resist it and instinctively sucked on it. Tiredness settled in again, and Qin Hua faded into a deep slumber, with her mind and heart completely muddled in confusion. Two days quickly passed by just like that. Nothing really changed in this short time span, except that Qin Hua looked a lot more rested and healthy. Oh and also... she was a dog now! To be more precise, she was a newborn white Siberian husky pup. Disappointment and frustration filled her heart as she thought about her previous life''s grievances. Even though she was reincarnated the very next day, she still wouldn''t be able to touch the family that betrayed her and killed her. It took her a few days, but Qin Hua eventually accepted her fate and prepared herself mentally to brace the reality. She was not exactly sure what had happened. She could only roughly guess the series of events. Most probably she had died from her vicious family''s sneaky poison attack. Then by some miraculous turn of events, she ended up being reincarnated, but as a puppy. And also, she was lucky enough to still retain all her previous life''s memories. Qin Hua didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. The 15 years old human girl suddenly became a cute puppy overnight. As if this wasn''t shocking enough, something even more surprising greeted her as well, a system! While her mind was still reeling from the fact that she was a dog now, a blue screen akin to a video game interface suddenly popped up in front of her face and scared the bejesus out of her. Qin Hua had not really spent a lot of time playing games or engaging in other leisurely activities. She had always been a one-track horse, completely focused on her grades. But her roommate, Wan Wan used to play quite a lot of these games, and later even complained to her in detail about some drop rates and whatnot. So Qin Hua could easily understand some of the terminologies in this new blue screen that seemed to pop out at her will. ______________ Name: Qin Hua Race: Common Beast Species: Dog Level 0 (0/200) ______________ Health: 10 Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Stamina: 1 ______________ Qin Hua stared at the screen for a long time. Too many twists and turns, new and inexplicable things had happened to her in the recent past. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was her life now. She needed to accept it. Qin Hua looked at the blue screen again. Health points should be her total health quantitatively. Strength, agility, and stamina were all pretty self-explanatory. Even with her melancholic mood, she couldn''t help but rejoice slightly. This looked awesome!! What would happen if she actually leveled up like those video game characters?? Maybe this second life as a puppy wouldn''t be that boring after all?! As she was happily daydreaming, a warm voice sounded near her. "You seem to be doing much better today." Ah, crap. How could she forget this voice?!! Leaving everything aside, there was still the matter of her new master! Damn it! She was someone else''s pet now! Chapter 3: A pets life is not too bad "Come here little white. Tut. Tut." Su Yan''s clear voice sounded. Woof. Woof. A cute snow white puppy swaggered slowly with a pouty face. [Damn it. I am not little white you bastard. I am Qin Hua.] Qin Hua was finally able to walk or rather waddle normally now. Apparently, when she was still a newborn, she had been heavily injured by some street dogs. And the handsome young man in front of her came to her rescue and nursed her back to health. Though Qin Hua was indeed very grateful to him for saving her life, she still couldn''t stomach the fact that she was somebody''s pet. And that too the constant petting, the cuddling, and especially his roommate, the damn bastard Lu Chen, everything drove her crazy. So why was she still obediently following instructions? It was all for the sake of a mysterious notification that had popped up today morning. She first thought that her system or whatever would just quantify her features, but with this quest, it was clear that it could do so much more! She had really hit the jackpot this time around. If only she was human, she could have aced her medical school exams with this awesome magical system! But unfortunately... she was still just a small puppy. [Hmph. A puppy can still have aspirations! I am going to become stronger, tougher, and live a long and pampered life!!] Qin Hua resolutely declared and puffed her chest as she wobbled forward with purpose. Puppies normally begin to walk only when they are three to four weeks old, but maybe because Qin Hua retained her previous life''s memories, she could already wobble about, albeit for a very short distance. And just for this small insignificant thing, the two idiots in front of her cheered and celebrated, as if their first love child took its baby steps. Qin Hua couldn''t balance herself for much longer and flopped down clumsily on the carpeted floor. True to her Stamina attribute''s value, which was a big fat 1, she got tired very easily. And she really didn''t want to test the effect of that number dropping to 0. Most probably that would mean her death. Seeing the cute little thing flail about, Su Yan immediately rushed forward and picked her up like she was a precious treasure. "Lu Chen. Don''t do this anymore. Look at Little White. She is too small for all this." "We can play properly with her in a month or so. Don''t rush the poor thing now." Su Yan fiercely reprimanded his friend. "Ok. Ok. Sorry, Little White. Would the cute little highness forgive this mortal''s error?" Lu Chen rubbed the puppy''s head and leaned forward to plant a kiss. [Damn it! I forgive you ok. No need for all this nonsense.] Qin Hua could only silently cry inside. She even tried to turn her head the other way to signal that she was not that kind of a puppy, someone who enjoys the constant doting, but the two guys couldn''t care less about understanding her signals. Though Qin Hua reacted this way, deep inside, she couldn''t help but feel the warmth of this excessive love and affection. Something that she had never received in her human life. Qin Hua comfortably rested in Su Yan''s lap and sucked on the bottle of milk that was promised to her if she managed to wobble over to them. She threw a smug sideways glance at Lu Chen. [Hmph. Even if I did not finish your stupid game, I still got my food.] But it was a bad idea because the next instant Lu Chen immediately leaped towards her. "Little white is looking at me! Yay!" He grabbed her from Su Yan and nuzzled her on his lap instead. [Damn it.] Qin Hua could only curse her own stupidity. She should have seen this coming. [Well, at least the quest should be done soon.] As she restlessly fidgeted on Lu Chen''s lap, Qin Hua licked her milk bottle savoring the taste of the sweet milk. Both Lu Chen and Su Yan were high school students who part-timed as videogame streamers. The two guys had pretty good facial features and a lean muscular built. They also had a very light-hearted attitude which made them both very popular with their online audience. This was how the pair of high school students were able to afford such a spacious and extravagant apartment in one of the expensive buildings in the city. And as soon as Qin Hua''s health stabilized, these naughty money grubbers promptly started milking her cuteness. Their usually dry and game centered streaming now also included her. In fact, she had become quite a big hit. So the duo even argued now and then about who gets to keep her on the lap when streaming, eventually agreeing to an alternating arrangement. Qin Hua would have grumbled about this, except for the fact that madam was now basking in her glory. Since she could actually read the comments and replies, it felt a little too sweet to know about these hundreds of people who thought she was the cutest thing ever. And of course, she was the cutest thing ever!! She had beautiful snow-white fur, with her small beady little eyes just oozing cuteness. On top of that, one of her eyes was a brilliant blue in color and the other was fluorescent green in color. It made her look extremely unique and mysterious. Qin Hua absolutely loved her look. Her eyes happily darted now and then to her cute face displayed on the corner of the game stream. Well apart from these obvious perks, since Qin Hua was staring at the computer screen, she was also able to confirm certain crucial things about her new life. The most important ones being the date, month, and year! It looked like when Qin Hua had reincarnated, fortunately, she didn''t undergo anything crazy like a time jump or a planet jump. She was still on earth and it was still January 2020. Everything else was absolutely the same, except for the fact that she was now a dog. Or at least that''s what she knew... Chapter 4: New skills By the time the live stream ended, Qin Hua had almost emptied the small baby bottle full of milk. And along with a full bulging stomach, the notifications that she had been working hard for also popped out. <5 Experience points have been rewarded> Qin Hua who had been contently lazing on Su Yan''s lap suddenly jolted and perked up. [Skills! Yay!] Her small cute face was full of smiles as she greedily looked at the three new skills that had appeared, but the next instant her smile faded. ______________ Name: Qin Hua Race: Common Beast Species: Dog Level 0 (5/200) ______________ Health: 10 Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Stamina: 1 ______________ Skills: Nibble (Level 1) Whine (Level 1) Plead (Level 1) ______________ [Damn it!!! Just what the heck are these skills??? Aren''t these just normal things than I can do? I have been scammed!!] Qin Hua stared at the illusionary blue screen with animosity. She consoled herself with the fact that at least Level 1 was mentioned next to these ridiculous skills. Maybe she could slowly level them up to get more powerful skills. She checked the skills panel again, with her beady little eyes settling uncomfortably on the last skill, Plead. Nibble and Whine were doable. Just what the hell was Plead?? Then it suddenly struck her! Maybe this was the legendary cute puppy dog eyes, that made anyone and everyone a slave to the puppy!! Various ideas about mind-controlling and charming other people popped into her small fluffy head, as she silently chuckled with a sinister look. These skills might not be useless after all! But this was all brand new for her and at this point, everything was just conjecture. So Qin Hua immediately wanted to start leveling up these skills and test her theories. Though in the current peaceful world, everything like this was useless, she still thanked her good luck for receiving such a system. Else she would have been bored out of her wits playing and sleeping all day long! Qin Hua finally budged from her comfortable position and craned her neck to select an ideal candidate. Nibble was her first target. She chose this particular skill because her previous life had drilled into her the importance of learning self-defense. Qin Hua''s mind again wandered to the Qin family and their depravity. Maybe one day she could even become strong enough to bite the head of her so-called family members. As she mentally imagined her revenge, she absentmindedly nibbled the ends of the white T-shirt Su Yan was wearing. She was too tired to move around and find something else to chew. "Ack! Look at this naughty girl! Your teeth haven''t even fully formed but you are already chewing everything in sight aren''t you?" Su Yan affectionately rubbed Qin Hua''s head and patted the little thing. "Poor Little White. I bet it''s just restless. It has been getting very hot lately. And this is not even the summer season!" Lu Chen whined in despair. "These past few days have indeed been unusually hot." Su Yan nodded as well. "Should we take Little white out for a walk? It is finally nice and cool outside." Lu Chen suggested. Ever since they got a puppy, he has been itching to do all sorts of outdoor activities. The two agreed and decided to go out for a small walk. As soon as they stepped out Qin Hua suddenly got a new notification. She was instantly overjoyed. She still needed 195 experience points to level up and this sounded very easy to accomplish. She didn''t even have to do anything personally. Qin Hua happily basked in the glow of the moonlight as the two guys strolled around the apartment complex. But her happiness was shortlived. Even though it was night time, the atmosphere was still exceedingly hot, and the duo decided to turn back just after 10 minutes. When it was this hot outside, they could only count on returning home and blasting the air conditioner. [What!! No No No. I still need 50 mins more.] Little white racked her brain and came up with a decent idea. It was time to use her divine combination move, Whine + Plead. As soon as Su Yan started turning back home, Little white immediately started whining showing an uncomfortable expression on its face. She adjusted her gaze and looked at Su Yan with the signature heart melting puppy dog look. "Oh my god. Little white what happened?" The two guys immediately started fussing over her. After circling a lot of possibilities they finally landed on the idea of prolonging their walk. And Little white as well happy bobbed her head up and down, swiftly indicating her approval. [He He. Bingo. These are definitely god-level skills!] But Qin Hua also couldn''t help but feel the increased heat all around them. In the short span of one hour, they personally witnessed at least two car tires bursting from high pressure. And one even looked like it was melting. Both Su Yan and Lu Chen had a worried look on their faces. All those warnings about global warming and excessive pollution, maybe finally something snapped?? Since they were walking for a lot longer, the duo decided to do some grocery shopping. The next week might be even worse than today, so they decided to stock up on a few more than necessary supplies. And by the time they returned back home, Qin Hua''s quest was also completed. Chapter 5: Battlemode Qin Hua''s new puppy life was pretty happy and eventless in the next few days. Thankfully her easy daily quests of eating 5 grams of protein and one hour of moonlight exposure were repetitive and she religiously completed them every day. Her snow-white fur now had a glossy sheen to it that made her look extremely adorable and cuddly. She had even gathered enough experience to almost reach Level 1, and physically as well she looked much healthier and chubbier. However, the same cannot be said for whatever was happening outside. Things were getting crazier by the minute. The atmospheric temperature had shot up through the roof all of a sudden. It was even declared a national emergency and people were asked to stay indoors to prevent heatstroke and excessive dehydration. When the government and other countries were running out of explanations and hypotheses, things unexpectedly cooled down a bit in the past couple of days. But before anyone could rejoice or even breathe a sigh of relief, something new cropped up. A series of strange phenomena started appearing in the sky above. Storm clouds roiled and incessant rain poured out like a maniac from the heavens above. The weirdest part was that the rain seemed to have some sort of acidic corrosive property to it. So, the lockdown continued, and everyone reluctantly stayed inside waiting for these mysterious things to clear up. As if all of this was not enough, Qin Hua suddenly had a brand new headache, the girl next door! Xu Meilin, a very cheerful bubbly girl, lived right next door to Su Yan and Lu Chen. The apartment was usually locked because the parents lived abroad and Xu Meilin lived in a girls'' hostel. But since everything was shut down and people were in total lockdown mode, Xu Meilin had to return to her apartment. There is an old saying, which typically angers several people. "Everything happens for a good reason." In Xu Meilin''s case, this was absolutely true! Who knew that her favorite streamers and famous heartthrobs Su Yan and Lu Chen literally lived right next to her!!! Xu Meilin was on cloud nine! And much to Qin Hua''s dismay, with the excuse of sharing snacks with the new neighbors, she was sitting right in front of her, and that too with a shabby-looking tabby cat on her lap. She was even proudly showing off that furry animal to the guys. [Girl, please! How can that rag doll compare with a cutie like me!] Qin Hua comfortably lazed in Su Yan''s lap and smugly glanced at the cat from time to time. The guys were too sweet to immediately drive out the intruder. So, Qin Hua had to begrudgingly listen to almost an hour of awkward flirting and awkward laughing. But it was not for nothing. The three humans eventually ended up deciding to put their beloved pets together for a play session and huzzah! Qin Hua received a new quest! The cat meowed and curiously walked next to the small puppy, looking up and down at the little white furball. At the same time, Qin Hua stared at the new quest which had suddenly popped up in front of her. Qin Hua looked at the quest with her mouth agape. The damn cat bastard was already level 1?? But she was just at level 0. Can she really take down that monstrosity with an entire level difference?? Little white stared at the cat in front of her with complex emotions. Then her eyes fell on the reward, which literally made her drool. She had been meticulously doing her two daily quests every day with not much progress. But, just this one quest can take her across the finish line, and she will finally be level1! How could she afford to miss out on such an obvious cheat? The cat bastard might already be at Level 1, but she still retained her human mental faculties. This should at least give her some sort of an upper hand. Right?? Qin Hua slowly wobbled over to the lazy cat, who had by now comfortably settled down in her sacred grounds. [What a manner less dufus!] Qin Hua gnashed her half-grown teeth. Too bad her nibble skill still did extremely negligible damage. Otherwise, she could have bitten this rotten bastard. Qin Hua mustered all the force that she could and slapped the fat ass in front of her. But the kitty didn''t even lift its head. It just waved its paw like it was swatting a fly. As if mocking her pathetic attempts, the stupid humans watching this bloodthirsty death match cluelessly aww''ed and ooo''ed in excitement. Stupid Lu Chen even dared to compliment the cat, "Oh my god. Coco is so adorable. I can''t believe how well these two are getting along with each other." Qin Hua rolled her eyes as she tried hitting the cat with her paw a few more times. But alas, since she was barely one month old, there was nothing much that she could do. She even tried remembering all the numerous Tom and Jerry episodes from her childhood for some creative ideas, but she was still drawing a blank. Qin Hua was quickly running out of time. Only half an hour was left before their usual stream schedule and she knew that these nice guys would probably chase the girl and the cat out before starting their part-time online streaming. As she was frantically searching here and there, her small beady eyes finally landed on something that could finally give her an upper hand, a small left-over peanut from last night''s dinner! Xu Meilin had earlier mentioned that Coco was slightly allergic to peanuts. So, this should definitely give her something to work with. [Sorry buddy. Your owner is right here. So, I am sure you will be alright. Here goes nothing.] She lit a candle for the tabby cat and flicked the peanut with full force towards the snoozing fur ball. Chapter 6: Level 1 After Qin Hua tossed the peanut, the lazy fur ball immediately started fidgeting restlessly. It even sneezed a couple of times. Qin Hua decisively used this distraction to nibble on Coco''s plump body. By now, the humans in the room had already noticed the crazy brawl between both the pets and jumped into action. Su Yan immediately leaped near the pet battle stage, Little white''s bedding, and grabbed the tiny puppy in his hand. [Damn it, Su Yan!] Qin Hua roared in her mind. But thankfully, the notification she needed successfully popped up in front of her. <100 Experience points have been rewarded> Now that the deed was done, Qin Hua couldn''t help but feel slightly guilty. She sheepishly threw a sideways glance at the kitty, who was now resting peacefully in its owner''s hands. Once the cat was moved away from the leftover blob of half-cooked peanut, it felt much better and stopped acting weird. "Ha Ha. What a naughty little puppy?!" Xu Meilin patted the cat in her hand and playfully glared at Qin Hua. Su Yan awkwardly chuckled, while Qin Hua went back to her original smug look. [Sorry bro. Have to crack some eggs to make an omelet.] But she did silently swear to help the kitty out later when she became more capable. After some more small talk, the two uninvited guests finally left the apartment, restoring the peace and quiet of the room. Su Yan as well busied himself with the video game stream set up and let Little white play by herself for a bit. Taking this chance, Little white rushed to the open patio and started working on the last obstacle between her and the much-awaited Level 1 upgrade. Since it was raining bat shit crazy on the outside, roaming around in the patio was her only method for finishing this quest. She had been doing this for the past couple of days, so the boys were also used to her behavior. And thus, a small cute white fur ball happily basked in the faint rays of moonlight that were magically slipping through the cloudy sky and the corrosive rain. Su Yun chuckled at the sight of the loitering puppy, swaggering with its wobbly body and unsteady steps. She seemed to be so into it that he decided to not disturb her for the stream session. Soon afterward, Qin Hua was tired from her unusually action-packed evening and ended up dozing off while still basking in the moonlight. When she again woke up, it was already the middle of the night, and her dependable masters had stuffed her in the cozy cushy bedding. The little white puppy lazily yawned and stretched out her white furry paws without a care in the world. But then Qin Hua suddenly perked up. She could surprisingly feel a little bit stronger than her previous self. She excitedly blinked like a maniac to get out of the sleepy haze and mentally willed her status screen. ______________ Name: Qin Hua Race: Common Beast Species: Dog Level 1 (0/400) ______________ Health: 20 Strength: 6 Agility: 6 Stamina: 6 ______________ Skills: Nibble (Level 2) Whine (Level 1) Plead (Level 1) ______________ Huzzah!! She had finally reached Level 1! There was a small bump in her pathetic health and her other attributes seemed to have improved as well. Even though the improvement was small, Qin Hua felt extremely satisfied. She happily lazed around for a while before eventually getting bored. Both her playmates were sound asleep, and she had nothing worthwhile to do. As her crystal blue and emerald green eyes darted here and there, a used towel lying haphazardly on the ground caught her eye. [He He He... Time to test out my new strength] With a mischievous look on its face, the small puppy dashed towards the purple towel lying on the carpeted floor. [Perfect!] Her eyes gleamed with excitement as she nibbled the soft towel with all the strength she could muster. Rip. To her surprise, a small tear immediately appeared in the towel. [This leveling up feature is awesome!] Qin Hua grinned widely as she continued attacking the towel with a vengeance. At Level 0, she was barely even able to make a bite mark or teeth impression in cloth materials... cough... cough... Su Yan''s shirt. But now, she was actually able to do some decent damage. Soon enough, the towel looked like a mangled mess and the loose fibers started irritating her eyes. So she tossed it aside and looked for something else to attack. [Damn it. Neat freaks are the worst!] Everything else was arranged perfectly and there were no other clothes sprawled about here and there. So she couldn''t find any other target to practice her skills. And with her current small figure, Qin Hua was still not able to climb anything. So she could only dejectedly look at her bedding. Her bed was too comfortable though! She really didn''t want to ruin it. After a lot of thought and deep consideration, the small puppy''s eyes reluctantly fell on the slightly open bedroom doors. Until now, she had been carefully avoiding walking into the guys'' rooms at arbitrary times, lest she might see something that couldn''t be unseen. But it looked like tonight she had to brave her heart and be adventurous. [This should be Su Yan''s room.] Qin Hua daringly wobbled towards the bedroom on the right. This was the first time she was coming in here. The room itself looked extremely neat and tidy. There were not many things in the room, just a single bed and a wooden table and chair set. This uncluttered minimalistic and efficient style was definitely Su Yan''s. His handsome face seemed very calm and tranquil as the teenager softly breathed in and out in his deep sleep. And just as she had expected, a small portion of his blanket was dipping on the ground. [Bingo! Which human didn''t pull their blanket in the night all the way to one side?? Aha!] Qin Hua had found her next practice target. [Tonight I am going to level my Nibble skill to 3!] The puppy did a small fist pump in the air, making it immediately wobble and flop down on the floor. Chapter 7: My master is a closet monster? Qin Hua started her rigorous training at full speed. She first started at the edge of the blanket which was drooping on the floor and followed it all the way to the top. Su Yan tossed and turned a couple of times, but ultimately was fast asleep for the entire duration. Around 3 am in the morning, the devil''s hour, the naughty puppy was still busily gnawing at the blanket, when a weird shadow appeared on the salmon-colored wall. Qin Hua looked up with her eyes full of surprise. The shadow looked like some sort of a monster outline from the beauty and the beast movie. She blinked a couple of times and stared at the empty wall again, only to see that the shadow did not disappear in the slightest. [Fuck. Is this a real-life ghost sighting? I have already reincarnated as a dog and ended up with some weird video game system.] [And now a ghost? Are you fucking kidding me?] Qin Hua slowly looked away, in a vain attempt to act like she was asleep. Maybe then the ghost wouldn''t harm her? But as she turned her head down, her eyes finally fell on the slender figure resting on the bed. Previously, her entire attention was on the wall and she didn''t notice the person on the bed, but now that her eyes fell on Su Yan, Qin Hua was completely flabbergasted. She slowly inched away from the bed shivering in fear. The boy whose scrawny chest was rhythmically heaving up and down just a few seconds ago was no longer to be seen. In his place, a weird creature rested. The torso of the creature still looked human but the face and hands were covered by a sort of blackish scales. The faint moonlight seeping into the room was pristinely reflected by these metallic scales making the creature seem unnaturally otherworldly. Qin Hua shuddered. [Am I going crazy??] She screamed inside her head, too scared to even let out a gasp. Who knows what was going to happen if the monster awakened?? She slowly inched further and further away from the bed, cowering in fear. Damn it. She had guts! She even dared to nibble the blanket of a crazy monster. She hid in a dark corner of the room for the rest of the night, too scared to move another muscle. And the night ticked away just like that in deathly silence, with only the intermittent vibrations from Su Yan''s phone resting on his nightstand. For the first one hour, Qin Hua mostly kept her head down and prayed that the monster doesn''t notice her. But the next hour, she was a bit more daring and peeked intermittently at the now snoring monster. And after a few more minutes, something even more terrifying happened! The monster had spotlessly converted back to her gentle, handsome, and elegantly sleeping master, Su Yan!! Qin Hua was going crazy. She was going as crazy as the phone on Su Yan''s nightstand. Apparently, something equally ridiculous and stupendous was going down tonight somewhere else as well. Qin Hua shook her head like a maniac. She looked again and the same handsome guy was sleeping. Maybe she was imagining things. [Never mind] Tired from all the hallucinations and the fake drama, Qin Hua drifted asleep in the dark corner of the room. She only woke up when Su Yan loudly screamed in the morning. [Huh? Uh?] Qin Hua slightly pried open her eyes, still very obviously drowsy, and peeked at the commotion. But her eyes immediately widened in surprise and she sobered up in a second. In front of her eyes were a totally ruined bed and the half-eaten blanket! [Damn it. I only nibbled the blanket. What is happening?] Then she remembered the monster from the night, and could clearly visualize the destruction unleashed by the monster peacefully tossing and turning in its sleep. [Ahhh. That monster is real!] But she didn''t have any more time to reflect on that realization, rather her focus was on the very angry handsome young man who was currently glaring at her. Time to use her godly skill - Plead! No one escapes the almighty sad puppy eye gaze. "Little White!! Why did you do this??" Su Yan nearly cried, unable to get angry or frustrated with the cute little furball. Normally, he wouldn''t care so much, but with the world outside going crazy with lightning on one day and corrosive rain on the next, who knows when he might be able to replace his bedding! Because of this naughty little furball, he might have to sleep on blankets on the carpeted floor! "Ughh..." He sighed loudly and took a few breaths. He then lifted the poor little puppy which looked very repentant and apologetic. "Well, whatever!" On seeing the cuteness up close, Su Yan''s usual smile returned back to his face and he put the furball back on the floor. He still needed to clean the floor and salvage what was remaining, so he had a busy day ahead. Su Yan patiently tried to clear the chaos when a loud scream interrupted his cleaning. "What happened now?" He rushed to Lu Chen''s room to check on his friend. Chapter 8: The world turned inside out Part1 Su Yan rushed to Lu Chen''s room to see what was going on. His friend had screamed so loud as if a madman with a hatchet was standing near his bed. Knowing his friend''s dramatic flair, there probably was a cockroach or an insect in his room. But as soon as he barged inside the room, Su Yan was aghast from what he saw. Almost the entire room was covered with spikes of white ice crystals. The dazzling spikes which were reflecting the sunlight trickling from the window seemed to be originating from the bed. "LU CHEN! WHAT HAPPENED! ARE YOU OKAY?" Su Yan shouted as he fell back on the floor with horror. "Bro, I am alright. You won''t believe what just happened." Lu Chen''s high-pitched voice reverberated in the cold freezing room. "Aah... Ya... I am seeing it right now." "I reached for my phone just now and these things started coming out of my hand." Lu Chen mumbled as he walked out of the ice forest in his room. He even held an icicle in his hand and was licking so casually like it was a popsicle. "Yuck! so bland!" "Are you seriously concerned about that right now?" Su Yan didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. His best friend and roommate had overnight developed some strange powers. While these two stared at each other in confusion, little white was standing nearby and wagging her tail excitedly. Qin Hua felt that the fog in her mind about the recent bizarre occurrences was slowly clearing up. Though she might not yet understand fully what was happening, two things were crystal clear. She had a special ability and both her masters, Su Yan and Lu Chen, also seem to have developed special abilities. That definitely explained the weird beast-like creature she saw on Su Yan''s bed last night. Things were starting to unfold and make sense for Qin Hua. But there was still one big question looming on her mind. Was it just this freaky apartment, or literally everyone on the planet got a special ability?? The excited sound of the two guys squabbling next to her brought her attention back to them. "Shall I try it again? I have a feeling that I can freeze things now." "Wait, wait, wait!" Su Yan immediately panicked and grabbed little white, holding it safely in his arms. "Tsk, tsk. Have some faith in me bro." Lu Chen raised his hand and pointed it at the small side table. He scrunched his face hard as if he was taking a shit and even tried jiggling his arms around, but nothing happened. "Hey, why is nothing happening?" Lu Chen looked at Su Yan with an anxious expression. Su Yan''s eyes were however glued to his phone that was blowing like crazy. He had just woken up and there were more than 20,000 notifications. After scrolling through a few of them, Su Yan was perplexed and ran to the living room. He switched on the television to tune into the news. "What the hell is happening to this world!" he muttered. Both Lu Chen and little white followed him and were looking at the television screen as well. "So Mr. E, is it true that you have wings now?" The female newscaster asked the man sitting next to her with clear astonishment in her tone. The male newscaster nodded with a smug smile and even stood up from his chair to demonstrate. A pair of clear snow-white wings suddenly appeared on his back. They stretched over 10 ft on each side. After twirling around a couple of times, the male newscaster finally sat down. "I have already registered my abnormality at the local health care center and so should all of you." "If something strange has recently happened to you or your loved ones, please report the incident and register yourself at the nearest health care center." "Please do not panic. Several people around the world are developing strange new abilities." "We still do not understand the cause or reason for these sudden changes but the government is tirelessly is working on it." "And so far this new event has not affected anyone''s health and safety." "But we are concerned about certain dangerous abnormalities and hence urge the citizens to register their abilities at the health center." "So Mr. E, have you actually tried flying in the sky with your wings?" The female newscaster couldn''t help but drool over her co-worker''s good luck. She herself did not sense or materialize any new abilities. Though not everyone did, a little more than a quarter of the country''s population had already registered these weird occurrences at the health center and more people were trickling in every second. Chapter 9: The world turned inside out Part2 The trio sat in front of their flat-screen television almost for the entire day, with their eyes glued to the insanity that was being reported. The recent unbelievable events were nothing short of astounding. Apparently, a major portion of the earth''s population suddenly sprouted wings, grew horns, coughed up fires, or even burped out toxic gases. No one knew what was happening and why this was happening. Not even the different governments could understand any of these mysterious developments. After a long time, Su Yan feebly cleared his throat and spoke with a hoarse tone. "Should we head out and get you registered?" He looked absent-minded as he spoke, with his brain in complete disarray. Before today, their biggest worry was the college entrance exams and admissions! And now... "Bro, don''t worry. Maybe your ability will show up eventually." Lu Chen mistakenly comforted his friend, thinking that he was feeling jealous and left out. Both Little white and Su Yan rolled their eyes simultaneously. This fellow had no sense of awareness whatsoever. Survival was the most important issue now, who cared if they got abilities or not! "No, no. I am not worried. As long as I have you, the strong warrior, next to me, what do I have to worry about?" Su Yan wryly chuckled and patted his friend. Only Qin Hua knew that Su Yan as well possessed a mysterious ability. But right now she was feeling too depressed to say anything. She had finally gotten lucky in her life and hit the jackpot, getting such a marvelous system ability, but only to have died shortly to become a dog!! Where was the justice in this?? While she was sulking with her small round eyes glued on the television screen, Su Yan and Lu Chen called up the local health center to fix an appointment. Since they had mentioned in the news that everybody was rushing towards these registrations, they didn''t want to get involved in a stampede kind of situation. Also, Su Yan had a very distinct ominous feeling bubbling at the bottom of his heart. So many new changes had occurred, but how all of those be harmless? Surely, there was a power imbalance right now. Moreover, the lack of clear guidelines and more action on the government''s part worried him. As it is, this situation definitely looked like a free for all kind of situation! Do whatever crime you want, as long as you are capable? So a part of him wanted to safely lock the doors and stay indoors till everything stabilizes further. And just as he was dreading, the nearby health care center representative also sounded agitated, confirming his suspicions. "Yes, we are still open for the registrations. It is crowded here. But the registrations are getting processed fast. So you boys can drop by anytime." "And... umm... Take care on your way over here. Some people have reported certain strange events." Su Yan''s face instantly stiffened. "If it''s not safe, then do we definitely have to register?" The representative immediately regretted speaking out of turn. "Yes, unfortunately, the government requires you to still drop by and get registered after an examination. It is mandatory." "Ok." Su Yan cut the call. The boys briskly got ready to step outside. On their way out, Su Yan hesitated, but eventually ended up grabbing a couple of kitchen knives. He shoved one in his bag and the other in his friend''s bag. Lu Chen was still busy trying to figure out his new powers and absent-mindedly nodded at his friend''s actions. Locking the doors, Su Yan didn''t forget to grab the sad-looking puppy, and the trio headed outside. As soon as they stepped outside, Qin Hua promptly received a new daily quest. Excitement flickered in the sad droopy eyes and the fickle-minded puppy was back to her cheerful self. [YASSSS! Another easy quest. Speed leveling is this missy''s favorite pass time.] Qin Hua grinned and nudged herself free from Su Yan''s warm cozy grasp. She directly jumped down on the ground and started running helter-skelter around the corridor. [Mu Ha Ha Ha. Catch me if you can, you lazy video game nerds.] Black lines covered Su Yan''s forehead as he ran behind the naughty puppy, trying to grab the little furball. Qin Hua''s soft white cheeks puffed and her little body jiggled as she used all of her small figure''s strength to run around at full speed. She nimbly evaded her monster master a couple of times before the successful quest notification eventually sounded. <5 Experience points have been rewarded> Chapter 10: Trapped? With little white safely secured in its arms, Su Yan and Lu Chen approached the elevator and pressed the button for going downstairs. A loud whirring noise sounded indicating that the elevator was moving. But surprisingly, even after waiting for ten minutes, the elevator was a no-show. "That''s weird!" Lu Chen worriedly exclaimed. "I guess we are taking the stairs" Su Yan shrugged and started walking towards the staircase. He pulled the door to the stairwell and strangely the door did not budge even an inch. "What the heck?! How did this door get jammed? Are we trapped on our floor?" Lu Chen was slowly losing his cool and composed exterior and starting to panic. He propped one leg up against the wall and began to wildly pull at the door using all his strength. Seeing that it was not working, he then started loudly banging on the door. The stairwell door still did not open and but the apartment door right next to the stairwell sprung open. A tall lean woman in her twenties stepped out with anger and irritation vividly visible on her sleepy face. Clearly, the woman had just woken up due to this ruckus and was still in her pajamas. "Why are you creating this god-awful noise, so early in the morning?" "Great aunt, what crazy meds are you on? It''s already five in the evening!" "And both the elevator and stairwell exits are jammed." Lu Chen angrily retorted. "Who is your aunt brat? I am just twenty-nine years young. Watch your mouth." She then scratched her head and asked again, "Wait. What''s happening? Is the elevator really jammed?" "Damn it. I can''t climb these freaking stairs again!!" "Did you brats call the building manager yet, or the maintenance guy, or at least the security guard?" As realization dawned on them, Su Yan smacked Lu Chen''s head. "Tsk Tsk. How come we didn''t do this first?" He shifted Little white who was cozily sitting in his arms and silently observing the show, and then fished out a phone from his pocket. Fortunately, Su Yan had the contacts saved for all the three aforementioned big shots and started calling the security guard first. Lu Chen and the annoyed woman stared at Su Yan as the phone continued to ring without any response. "Try the building manager". The woman suggested. Su Yan nodded and dialed the number. They waited patiently, but there was again no response. "How about the maintenance guy?" Lu Chen worriedly reminded. Su Yan dialed his number as well. Ring Ring Ring Ring. But as soon as he dialed a loud ring tone echoed right next to them, just outside the stairwell door!! Su Yan was stunned and he almost dropped the phone on the ground. The other two also looked dumbfounded with their mouths wide agape. What the hell is happening? Su Yan then cut the call and weirdly enough the phone outside the door stopped ringing as well. "HELLO. MR. KIM? MR. KIM?" Lu Chen again started loudly banging the door and yelling out the maintenance guy''s name. He was baffled beyond his wits. Too many things were going wrong today! They couldn''t help but jump to the worst possible conclusion. "Tch. Tch. Stop shouting brat. Maybe he just fainted outside. Why don''t we call the ambulance or police for help?" The woman suggested. "You... great aunt! How can you be this calm? Do you not know yet what is happening??" "The entire human population is evolving!! Everyone has some sort of superpower now." "Think mutants, X-men, Superman, power rangers ??? Do you get it now???" "All the nonsensical fantasy fiction is coming true right in front of our eyes!" Lu Chen screamed at her. The woman calmly turned to Su Yan, who seemed to be more stable than his friend, and solemnly said, "Hi. I am Alex." "I think your friend here has completely lost it. Do you need help restraining him?" "Restrain your mother!! Your idiot." Lu Chen huffed almost out of breath from yelling at the stupid woman in front of them. Alex glared at the disrespectful brat. "You better shut your mouth right now." She rolled up her sleeves and inched towards Lu Chen, with the intention of giving the angsty teenager a good beating. "Damn it. She is beating me!!" Lu Chen was one step ahead. He ran and hid behind Su Yan before Alex could even get near him. "Ok. Enough. Enough. Both of you, please stop." Su Yan furrowed his brows in tiredness and stopped the situation from progressing any further. Woof. Woof. Even Little white was annoyed with the two imbeciles, acting out mindlessly when the entire world is turning upside down. Su Yan quickly tapped something on his phone and showed it to Alex. Since she had just woken up, she probably was not aware of the things that had been happening around them. Chapter 11: First evolution Part1 "Oh my God! Humans are developing such abilities suddenly?" Alex was exasperated. She could never even imagine waking up late one morning and finding herself in this sort of a super-human world! This was the stuff of dreams or rather nightmares. Su Yan also shared with her the public service announcement that required all individuals showing any abilities to register themselves at their nearest local health care center. "Oh. I see. Is this the reason why you were headed outside?" Alex curiously asked Su Yan. "Do you both also have some kind of superhuman ability?" Faced with the woman''s questioning glance and excited eyes, Su Yan and Lu Chen nervously looked at each other. They were trying to decide whether they should share Lu Chen''s ability with her or not. The boys kept silent for a few seconds, but they finally nodded their heads. At least until they figure out their current situation, they might need all the help they could get. Su Yan calmly answered her question. "Yes, Alex, though it''s not the both of us." "I don''t have any ability, but my friend Lu Chen here possibly has a supernatural ability." "We were indeed heading out to the health center to register his ability." While the trio was fervently discussing the mind-bending current affairs, Qin Hua was silently engrossed in her own slice of mystery. Out of nowhere, she had suddenly received a few new notifications. DING! DING! DING! Qin Hua almost felt dizzy with the random bombardment of information. Qin Hua''s round beady fluorescent eyes twinkled with excitement. Mana? Was this a new form of energy? Is this why everybody was developing new abilities? Things seemed much more clearer to her now. As far as why the earth was suddenly subjected to this new energy called mana, she still didn''t have the answer. But at least she knew enough to help her survive in this new world better. Qin Hua flicked open her status screen and hurriedly eyed the latest updates. ______________ Name: Qin Hua Species: Dog Grade: Common Beast (Evolution possible) Level 1 (20/400) ______________ Health: 20 Mana: 1 Strength: 6 Agility: 6 Stamina: 6 ______________ Skills: Beastial Mana absorption (Passive; Gain 1 mana attribute every day) Nibble (Deals the target damage proportional to physical strength, Level 3) Plead (Deters the target from attacking by gaining target''s favor, Level 2) Whine (Attracts the attention of the target, Level 1) ______________ Qin Hua stared at the screen without blinking her beady eyes. The new mana attribute and her special beast ability to passively absorb the atmospheric mana was something she could somewhat understand. But the little dog was quite puzzled by the evolution notifications. A dog is a dog, what can she possibly evolve into? A bigger dog? Qin Hua''s puzzlement was so apparent that even Su Yan noticed the change in Little White''s behavior, as he was holding her in his arms. Like a mother concerned for her kid, Su Yan hugged the cute little puppy closer to his chest. "Sorry, Little white. I know all of this is very stressful for you and bothers you." "I will do my best to protect you and keep you safe." Su Yan reassuringly mumbled to Little White. Qin Hua was unexpectedly touched and slightly flustered in his tight embrace. [Damn it, dude. This missy is trying to power up here and save all our asses. Quit smothering me.] [Evolution options. Let''s see.] The first one was Hell hound. Evolving to this big guy gave her a special ability to breathe out fires. This definitely seemed like a useful and powerful option. The second option was Mad hound. This evolution gave her the power to go berserk and unleash 10 times her current strength and power. Though this ability looked less enticing than breathing fire, it was still a very powerful ability, especially considering that her strength increases with every level. The third option was Shadow hound. This option was a bit strange. She didn''t completely understand the power but it looked very mysterious. If she evolved to a shadow hound, the description explained that she would be able to unleash demonic powers. The last and final option was Vampiric hound. If she chose this option she would be able to absorb the blood of others and grow stronger. [Yuck! Blood??] Qin Hua spat out. Just the thought of it gave her a sick metallic taste in her mouth. Chapter 12: First evolution Part2 Qin Hua sighed and re-read the evolution options, again and again, several times over. She just couldn''t believe what was right in front of her eyes. Every single one of the four options looked overpowered and awesome. How cool would it be to breathe out flames or unleash demonic powers!!! Qin Hua almost drooled looking at the list. This definitely looked like a tipping point in her dog life, something that could determine her entire growth, potential, and her future. Unfortunately, no matter what she evolved into, it looked like she would still be only a dog, albeit a more powerful one. [Hmmm¡­ It looks like the Shadow hound and the Vampiric hound options will have the highest growth potential in the future.] [But dammit I just cannot deal with sucking someone''s blood. Let''s go with the Shadow hound option.] [Even if I am just a cute little house pet, who is probably never going to be involved in anything violent, I can still think of a few good uses for this evolved form. Mu Ha Ha Ha.] Little did she know that her life would be indefinitely wrecked in a mere few minutes, to be completely drenched in blood and violence. Qin Hua licked her lips greedily and selected the Shadow hound option. [How dare those Tang family idiots poison and kill their own kith and kin.] [I am going to work hard and summon some ghosts from the shadow world, just to haunt those assholes.] [I am coming for you jerks! Hmph.] While Su Yan, Lu Chen, and Alex were huddled up trying to figure out a plan of action, Qin Hua''s soul happily basked in a warm glowing light. [Waaahhh¡­ So cool. I can do magic now??] Qin Hua impatiently opened her status screen to check out the new skills. ______________ Name: Qin Hua Species: Shadow hound Grade: Mid-tier Beast (Evolution possible) Level 1 (20/400) ______________ Health: 20 Mana: 1 Strength: 6 Agility: 6 Stamina: 6 ______________ Skills: Beastial Mana absorption (Passive; Gain 1 mana attribute every day) Blending into darkness (Merge indistinguishably into the darkness, Level 0) Leech Bite (Drains the target health by 1hp/sec, Level 0) Nibble (Deals the target damage proportional to physical strength, Level 3) Plead (Deters the target from attacking by gaining target''s favor, Level 2) Whine (Attracts the attention of the target, Level 1) ______________ Qin Hua gazed at the mouth-watering skills and satisfactorily nodded. Though she might have preferred something cooler like summoning an undead, she was quite satisfied with what she got for the time being. While she was thoroughly lost in her own world, everything on the outside was turning crazy. Lu Chen again tried calling Mr. Kim using Su Yan''s phone and the phone still rang right outside the jammed stairwell door. The trio looked at each other in frustration, and Lu Chen was just about to call the police hotline for help when a loud bang echoed on the other side of the door. "Someone is actually there on the other side of the door! Finally!!" Both Lu Chen and Su Yan heaved a sigh of relief thinking some help had arrived. But boy were they wrong¡­ "Hello. Could you please try and open the door from the other side? It looks as if it is locked or jammed from that side." Lu Chen shouted through the metallic door hoping to communicate with their stranger on the other side. But the other side didn''t exactly respond¡­ At least no words were spoken. Rather the request was answered by even louder banging. And with every second, the banging started getting louder and louder. As if that was not enough, the three of them also heard some sort of muffled growling noises from the other side in between the loud banging. "What the hell is that??" Alex clapped her hands forcefully on her cheeks. She was trying to wake up from this hellish nightmare. Suddenly, all three of them felt relieved that the door was sturdily jammed and holding steady even amidst the crazy banging. Just when they heaved a sigh of relief, a loud punch reverberated and this time a fist imprint appeared on the metallic door. "How¡­ Just how can someone punch through this thick metallic door?" Lu Chen stammered stepping back, with dread and fear in his eyes. "Is that even a human on the other side??" Alex was also scared out of her wits. The banging on the other side of the metallic door only got harder and harder, so hard that the hinges on the door were now shaking. The door looked like it was going to give out any time now. Chapter 13: Run Run Run The door looked like it was going to give out any second now. They definitely did not have enough time to call the cops or any other helpline. "We need to get out of here right now." Su Yan yelled, taking charge of the situation since both Alex and Lu Chen were shell-shocked and staring at the door like statues. "Fuck this. I am going to lock myself in my house!" Alex nervously stuttered. She didn''t want to try any crazy stunts like escaping through the air vents or something. She would rather think of all of this as a bad dream and would prefer to go back to her bedroom and sleep it all away. "Stupid. If the monstrosity on the other side can break open this heavy metallic door, and make an impression like this, do you really think your thin plywood door is going to stop it from attacking you?" Lu Chen yelled at Alex. He was right and Alex knew it. She needed to stick with these brats for now, especially considering that Lu Chen had some sort of abnormal superhuman ability. Who knows! He might even end up protecting them all in this nightmarish reality. "Okay! I will follow you guys. What''s the plan now?" Alex crossed her arms and seriously asked Su Yan. She considered him to be the saner of the two. The other guy was simply hateful! "Umm¡­" Su Yan hesitated. He was also at a loss for words. Both the elevator and the stairwell routes are unavailable. And hiding in the apartment is not a feasible solution. They were essentially trapped. So what can they possibly do now, considering they were on the 9th floor of the apartment complex? Were they supposed to play running and catch with whatever was there on the other side of the door?? When the trio were racking their brain, a soft voice sounded from around the corner. "Fire escape." Xu Meilin peeked her pretty little head out and nervously suggested. The petite girl was slightly shivering and looked very anxious. She was holding a yellow tabby cat in her hands. And as soon as the cat entered her field of vision, a familiar notification popped up in front of Little white. [Damn it System! Not right now!] Qin Hua snarled and ignored the quest. She was more concerned about their current safety. Contrary to Alex''s cold and snarky attitude, Xu Meilin looked genuinely scared and in distress. "Little girl, were you just eavesdropping on our conversation??" Alex angrily scoffed. Tempers were running high and everyone was tightly wound. Alex did not like the fact that the girl seemed to be secretly listening in on the conversation, without joining them outright. "Sorry, big sister. I just came out because of all the loud noises. I didn''t mean to intrude." Xu Meilin innocently explained. "Great aunt! Can you not yell at our friend?" Lu Chen immediately snapped back. "Of course, you would take her side." "Well, who is the one completely useless here and who suggested using the fire escape! Hmph." "Stop bickering you two. Let''s go. Thanks, Mei Mei. We were not thinking properly. You really saved us this time!" "I didn''t even know that this place had a fire escape." Su Yan butted in and smoothened things over. "You should also come with us. It is not safe to stay here. Something is trying to break open the door." "Thanks, Su Yan. I am really afraid to be by myself. I don''t know what is happening." Xu Meilin softly bowed with a pitiful expression. "Awesome. A damsel in distress! Just what we need for this situation!" Alex was still not convinced. She hated girls like Xu Meilin, always acting very pure and pitiful. [Yup. You read my mind sister! Kick the cat and the girl out of this party right now.] Qin Hua bobbed her cute head up and down, but unfortunately, no one was paying attention to her. "Ok. Ok. Let''s head to the fire escape. Now. Hopefully, at least that doesn''t have any monsters or god knows what." "Mei Mei, Can you lead the way?" Su Yan hurried anyone, focusing on the urgency of the situation. "And while we are on the way we can also call the police and tell them about a mysterious monster or a violent human in our apartment complex. They can send some help our way." Lu Chen added. Agreeing to this strategy the four humans, one cat and one dog, headed to the fire escape. "The fire escape is right behind the old service door. Let''s hurry." When the group arrived there, they almost puked out blood. "Stingy bastard!" Alex cursed the building owner. The fire exit was right in front of them, but the damned thing was just a flimsy-looking ladder that ran down from the apartment roof all the way to the ground, with completely no railings or whatever for support. Chapter 14: Rats are never nice The fire exit dangling in front of the group was just a flimsy-looking ladder that ran down from the apartment roof all the way to the ground. Being on the ninth floor it looked quite scary to climb down that thing which was supposed to be a legitimate fire escape. "Umm¡­ Who wants to go down first?" Lu Chen nervously asked as it was getting dark outside and nobody knew if there were any other surprises waiting for them, particularly not the good kind. "Now, who is the useless one?" Alex scoffed and stepped forward. She confidently volunteered herself and started climbing down the ladder that was simply attached to the outer wall of the building with no other guardrails and no support. The other three, as well as one cat and one dog, nervously watched her take one step at a time and carefully climb down the rungs of the ladder. At least the ladder felt pretty sturdy and she didn''t have to worry about the damn thing breaking off abruptly. But the peace and calm did not last long. As Alex descended to the third floor, she suddenly started hearing loud squeaking noises. She immediately looked down on the ground to find a sort of black mound forming at the base of the ladder. Alex continued to climb down a couple more rungs to get a closer look at the mess on the ground. But then she stopped. As Alex watched the slightly moving black mound, a loud shriek escaped her mouth. She could now see glowing dark red eyes staring right back at her, not just one or two but dozens of them, maybe hundreds? Rats! Or maybe mice! And lots and lots of them!! And the worst part was, they looked several times bigger than their usual size and seemed very violent. Alex started hyperventilating. This was all too much to digest! The black mound was also rapidly growing in size with the rodents continuously collecting one after another. Where are they coming from?? Alex panted heavily with her head and vision spinning. The other three were anxiously waiting at the top for an all-clear signal from Alex. Watching her frozen still on the ladder, they couldn''t help but wonder what was wrong. And weirdly, the woman who was frozen still for almost an entire minute or more suddenly started frantically climbing back up. "Fuck Fuck Fuck" "There are¡­ There are ¡­ rats down there" Alex screamed as she climbed back onto the ninth floor at record speed. Beads of sweat were dripping on the floor from her shivering unstable body. "Rats? Sigh. You girls really do get scared by the tiniest little things." "What are a few rats gonna do? Scratch your pretty face?" Lu Chen insensitively mocked Alex. The enraged woman bit down on her lips. "Why the heck am I stranded with these stupid brats??" She cursed her bad luck. "They are not exactly rats, asshole. They looked like one but they were... they were much bigger." Alex stammered. "They were three or maybe five times as big, but were completely black with glowing red eyes and grizzly spines on their skin." "WE CANNOT GO DOWN THAT WAY." "If you don''t believe me, feel free to try your luck and head down. Hmph." Giant-sized rats?? This was real life and not some fantasy world. How could giant-sized rats exist? But then again... humans have superpowers now... So Su Yan had no other choice but to give Alex the benefit of the doubt and believe whatever she was describing. Besides, she didn''t really have any motive to lie to them. "It''s getting dark outside. Maybe it is best for us to stay inside the apartment complex tonight." "We have food and everything here to keep us alive for now." Su Yan suggested, but his face had a pensive look. "Surely you must be joking? We can''t go back to our floor. I don''t want to face that thing which was banging that door." "What if it was another giant rat or some other giant animal? It is definitely still lurking around." "And I don''t know how long the door will hold." Alex protested. The outside might be dangerous, but inside the apartment complex was dangerous as well. The group dumbfoundedly stared at each other not knowing what to do. Chapter 15: New Quest "You are right Alex. We can neither stay here nor go out." "How about we head over to the nurse sister''s apartment down on the 7th floor using the fire escape?" "Since the monster is on our floor, it might be safer there." "Also, she will probably have a better idea of what the hell is going on." Su Yan sighed and suggested. He really couldn''t think of any other escape route at this moment. No one else had a better suggestion. So everyone reluctantly agreed and then started climbing down one by one to the 7th floor. They still had to be careful not to come across any more door breaking monsters or mutated rats. But luckily the nurse''s apartment was just near the fire escape, so the four of them didn''t have to venture too far. "Sister Min, Sister Min." Su Yan quietly called the nurse from outside her apartment and knocked on the door. He didn''t want to shout and draw attention to their group. In this sort of weird situation, one would expect the entire apartment complex to be in a state of panic and chaos, with people running around everywhere. But there was absolutely no commotion whatsoever and the entire building was eerily silent, except for that one monster which was still banging on the door upstairs. So Su Yan tried to gently knock on the door and get the attention of the nurse sister. They nervously waited outside the apartment door for about five minutes, but there was no answer¡­ "Did she go somewhere? Was she chased down by some monster as well?" Lu Chen was worried. "Maybe she already escaped this hell hole?" Xu Meilin bit her nails and softly mumbled. "Hey. See if the door is open? Sis usually doesn''t lock her door, when she is inside the apartment." Alex suddenly suggested. And indeed the door was unlocked!! "You know her too?" Lu Chen curiously asked. "Of course. Almost everyone in the building knows her. Unlike you she is a kind and helpful person. Hmph." Alex scoffed and followed Su Yan as they slowly entered the apartment. The lights were out in the living room and in the kitchen. All four of them called out to Sister Min quietly in a scared voice thinking that a monster would jump out of some corner. They didn''t even dare to switch on the lights. "Look, the bedroom light is still on! Phew. Sister was probably just tired and slept off with her apartment door wide open." Lu Chen loudly exclaimed and pointed to the sliver of light spilling out from under the closed bedroom door. "That''s why she didn''t answer the door for so long." After reassuring himself, and everyone else around him, Lu Chen wiped the sweat off his face. Slightly relaxed, the four walked over to the nurse''s bedroom and knocked on the door. Unfortunately, they were faced with the same situation again. No response! But luckily, the bedroom door was unlocked as well, and Su Yan slightly opened the door to make sure he didn''t startle sister Min or walk in on her while she was naked. The door opened with a loud creaking noise and the group stepped in. "Sister Min." Su Yan quietly called out. He didn''t want her to be angry with them for invading her privacy so blatantly. But Sister Min, the woman inside the room was weirdly unresponsive. She was sitting on the far end of the bed inside the room completely still like a statue. She did not turn back even when the boys repeatedly called out her name. She seemed to be intently looking out the bedroom window without blinking her eyes. But the windows were closed and curtains were drawn. What was she looking at? The bed was properly made and the blankets were neatly folded and untouched. Clearly, she had not been sleeping. "Sister, are you okay?" Xu Meilin asked, holding the tabby cat in her arms so tightly that the poor thing was getting suffocated. "Umm Sister Min ¡­ are you okay?" Lu Chen as well asked nervously. Qin Hua on the other hand was going crazy! Because she just received a really weird quest!! [WHAT THE HELL IS A MANA ZOMBIE???] Qin Hua''s mind was reeling. She looked at the woman in front of them sitting like a statue and suddenly everything was clear to her. And more importantly, the quest was a survival quest, the opponent was Level 10 and the stingy system was generous with the experience reward! All these things could only mean one thing!! Hell was about to break loose!! Chapter 16: The scary sister Min Qin Hua in a last-ditch attempt started jumping up and down in Su Yan''s arms. She needed to warn him ASAP that the nurse lady sitting like a doll in front of them was dangerous!! But unfortunately, her desperate actions were merely regarded as restlessness. Su Yan nuzzled the cute puppy and murmured to comfort the poor thing. "Don''t worry, Little white. Soon this will all be over." Rrrrrr¡­ Woof. Woof. [You are absolutely correct. If we don''t do something soon, then this will all be over indeed. Fuck.] [Arghhh¡­ Why are my masters so stupid?!] Qin Hua immediately regretted not selecting the Hell hound evolution option that could have given her more fighting power right from the get-go. While Su Yan was petting Little White, Lu Chen walked over and extended his hand slowly to tap on sister Min''s shoulder. The woman''s body was surprisingly cold and frigid. As soon as he touched her, Lu Chen yelped and took his hand back. "Did I just get electrocuted?" The next instant, the previously frozen and statue-like sister Min slowly started turning towards the intruders. Correction. Only her head turned, her torso for some reason did not follow the head''s lead. Normally, a human being''s head would only turn until the shoulder, but Sister Min''s head continued to turn further causing the bones in her neck to crackle. "AAAAHHHHH!" The four screamed, seeing the completely turned head and eerie fixated eyes, that were glowing and fluorescent copper sulfate blue in color. Sister Min''s face was pale. Her vacant eyes suddenly locked on to Lu Chen and she opened her mouth revealing sharp canine teeth that shouldn''t belong to a human. "Why the hell are we in a fucking horror movie scene???" Lu Chen screamed and scrambled backward. "Sister Min, please turn your head back. This is way too scary!" Su Yan, Alex, and Xu Meilin were also screaming. As if it was responding to them, the monster in front of them screamed as well, as it sprang forward towards the weaklings. Xu Meilin instantly fainted, collapsing on the floor unconscious. Alex too lost her balance and plopped on the ground with her knees shivering. Lu Chen was already halfway to the door, trying to get the hell out of the house. But unfortunately, Su Yan, who was holding Little White, was still standing frozen in a state of shock. His mind was still processing the events occurring in front of them. Human beings turning into monsters? Giant rabid animals? Superpowers? Suddenly, the world he lived in did not make sense anymore. Upstairs¡­ The thing that was banging on the door¡­ Could it possibly be another monster like this?? There were more than one of them? How on earth were they supposed to deal with something unimaginable like this? With his mouth wide agape, the trembling eighteen-year-old boy dropped the puppy in his hands and blankly stared as death appeared to be right in front of him. Sister Min''s monstrous hands were swinging towards him at full force, determined to claw his pitiful weak body to shreds. Qin Hua who was mercilessly dropped on the floor whined from the pain but she quickly got back up on all her fours. She glared at the monster in front of her and bit down on its leg with all the force that she could muster. Leech Bite! She screamed inside her brain, hoping that was enough to activate the skill. This was currently her strongest weapon. But alas¡­ The monster kicked her aside as if she was a harmless bug and then proceeded to claw at Su Yan with full force. At the sight of the monstrosity in front of him, Su Yan''s brain whirred into motion and he shouted. "LU CHEN. FREEZE NOW." "Use your powers and freeze the monster." Su Yan screamed at Lu Chen with his eyes bloodshot. Lu Chen stopped in his tracks and turned back. He saw that the monster was about to kill his best friend and his heart tightened. In the heat of the moment, he had hastily started to run out, without considering the people around him. Tears streamed out of his eyes as he raised his hands towards the bedroom and tried to activate his freezing power. He tried again and again. He shouted and screamed and tried again. But nothing was happening. Activating the power was not yet in his muscle memory and the dangerous situation they were in did not help with it. Qin Hua whimpered on the side. [Damn it] It was all over. She was just not strong enough yet to help her friends. Her eyes glistened as she watched the monster bring down its strong powerful arms directly aimed at Su Yan''s muscular chest. Alex and Lu Chen also blankly watched as a bloody massacre was about to be unleashed right in front of them. And soon, it would be their turn to be cut down and torn apart into pieces! Chapter 17: Monster vs Monster Su Yan raised his hands feebly to protect himself from the incoming attack. It was more of a fluent reflex action than a trained block for the fast approaching blow. ARGHHHHH He screamed in anticipation because he had a feeling he might not be able to do so once the blow landed. He closed his eyes and scrunched his face in preparation for his final moments on this freakish Earth. And the next instant a loud screeching noise echoed. It was the typical irritating teeth chattering noise coming from a metallic object scratching against another metallic object. Su Yan blinked in confusion. He was not in pain. Alex and Lu Chen blinked in confusion. Their friend was somehow still standing. Even Qin Hua stared at the scene with her eyes wide open. Because when the monster had crazily slashed towards Su Yan, it was not him who got hurt. She could see that the monster or rather, sister Min was gravely wounded, with blood oozing out. The monster''s nails and fingers and even parts of the hand were entirely damaged. It was then that everyone''s attention turned towards Su Yan looking at him with more focus. His two hands that he had lifted up and crossed to block the attack had somehow morphed into something supernatural. His entire arm was covered by black metallic scales like that of a pangolin''s, but maybe much stronger. In fact, the strength and toughness were completely off the charts. The monster could not even touch his reinforced skin after using its full force. Su Yan was completely amazed looking at his skin. He was supposed to die but now everything had changed. Since he now had a real chance to defeat the monstrosity in front of him, he didn''t hesitate any longer. His body was pumping him up with excess adrenaline and his heart was pounding like a machine gun. Su Yan snapped out of his trance. He readied himself and swiftly changed into an offensive position. The monster as well, geared up for the next attack. It did not back off even after its heavily wounded state. In fact, the flesh wound had already begun healing and even its nails were restored, much stronger and sharper than before. It was ready to attack again. Su Yan did not wait and allow Sister Min to regenerate completely. He took a deep breath of air and rushed forward. Su Yan felt his entire body bursting with power. He felt as if he was ten times stronger and faster than before. He pulled back his reinforced metallic arm, gathering every ounce of force he could muster, and bashed directly on the monster''s head. A loud thud resounded. Blood spilled everywhere. The monster''s head had cracked with its scalp torn and skull showing. Pieces of mutated flesh were stuck on the sharp scales of Su Yan''s arm. The monster''s movements had visibly slowed down but it was still not enough to put it down completely. Su Yan gaped in amazement. Such overwhelming strength! He didn''t relax yet and attacked the monster again and again with his morphed scaly strong arm. Qin Hua stared at the monster''s miserable plight and then back at Su Yan. [My master is fierce!] WOOF! Qin Hua barked excitedly! She was already aware of Su Yan''s transformation ability but did not know that it was so superb! Qin Hua struggled and got back up ignoring the searing pain on her body. She wanted to help out Su Yan in the fight, even if it was just a little bit. In the midst of the chaotic bashing action which was going on in the top, Little white bared its canines and repeatedly bit the monster in its feet. Her bite looked like a normal puppy dog bite from the outside. Being a small puppy, the bite barely even registered a mark on the monster''s skin, but still, its health was decreasing like crazy. Woof! Qin Hua barked understanding the meaning of the notification. It looked like no matter how many times she bit the zombie, the skill activated only once. But it didn''t matter, the health was dropping slowly and she continued biting it with ferocity. Su Yan, of course, did not notice the scrappy little thing going at it below him. His entire focus was on the monster in front of him. The fight was almost over. With each punch he threw, Su Yan could feel his aggression and rage increasing. An unfathomable power was surging within him. The black metallic scales began to rise and the color changed from black to reddish hue. Su Yan felt an overwhelming need to vent out the anger building up within him. He could not control the pressure building up inside him and with his 20th punch, his left hand glowed brightly. It had a weird glimmering red hot aura around it. The force of this punch was unexpectedly almost 100 times the previous strength and it completely demolished the monster''s head and even half of its body. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere. The monster''s body fell down, limp, and rendered dead. Everything was deathly silent as the monster''s corpse laid still, obnoxiously staring at everyone''s gobsmacked faces. Chapter 18: Level Jump! While others were staring at the splattered human/monster corpse, Qin Hua was staring at something else. Several notifications had popped up in front of her one after the other. <5000 Experience points have been rewarded> <500 Experience points have been rewarded> [I leveled up so many times???] Qin Hua''s tongue rolled out in shock after seeing these new updates. She couldn''t believe her eyes. [How did this happen?] She panted. She knew that she had only dealt a small amount of damage but she got so many experience points in return? That didn''t seem fair? [Nya ha ha. Who cares? At least now, I am finally getting lucky!] The puppy grinned in satisfaction. As she was about to flip open and check her new status, her gaze darted towards the young man standing beside her. He was the one who had actually taken down the mana zombie single-handedly. Qin Hua wondered if this was some kind of berserk ability that Su Yan had within him, but that didn''t explain the scales covering his body. Did he simply have a monstrous strength or was he becoming a monster himself? Lu Chen was also awestruck with what had transpired in front of him. His friend had just stepped up and protected everyone in the room. "This is amazing bro!" He shouted, stepping closer to take a look at the thing lying on the ground. "You also have an ability just like me!" "Why was your last punch glowing and what are all these scales?" Unlike Lu Chen who seemed very energetic and had a million questions, Su Yan was a bit shaken up. He weakly collapsed on the floor, folding his legs, and cupping his head in his hands. His entire body was shivering. He didn''t know if this was fear or anxiety or perhaps even a sort of excitement. "What is happening? What the hell is happening around us?" "I just¡­ I just raised my hands to block her clawing, and everything happened so quickly¡­" "As if it was simply a reflex reaction." Su Yan mumbled incoherently, trying to understand bits and pieces of what just happened. He seemed extremely rattled. Qin Hua couldn''t help but wiggle closer to him and she nuzzled her head against him. Su Yan tilted his head, looking at the innocent white puppy rubbing against him. He felt her soft body and smiled weakly. Lu Chen''s excited bubbly face greeted him as well. The world they lived in no longer made sense but as long as these two were with him, it wasn''t that bad either. Su Yan''s metallic scales had by now morphed back to normal human skin. He tried to activate it or bring it out again but just like Lu Chen, he also couldn''t control it. He clenched his fist and slowly stood up. "We need to learn how to control these abilities if we are ever going to survive in this new world." Lu Chen nodded. Though he always tended to joke around, the gravity of this situation hadn''t escaped him. "Let''s first get the girls back up. They fell unconscious with Sister Min''s... Sorry, I mean the monster''s scream." Su Yan said, picking up Xu Meilin. Lu Chen picked up Alex and together, they brought the girls to the living room. Little White and the cat quietly followed behind them. "Is there any water around?" Su Yan asked. Lu Chen quickly ran to the kitchen, filled a glass with tap water to the brim, and brought it to Su Yan. The duo then sprinkled some water over the girls'' faces, and soon they regained consciousness. Alex was the first one to open her eyes. "What happened to Sister Min, no what happened to the monster?" She panicked. "Relax. Relax. Everything is taken care of now." Alex let out a loud breath of relief and asked again. "Just what exactly happened? How are we¡­ still alive?" "He He He. My good brother Su Yan here also has an awesome ability just like me and protected all of us in the nick of time by killing the monster." Lu Chen bragged. He described the details of the fight and Alex''s eyes immediately lit up. She was happy to be alive but¡­ she was also slightly feeling awkward. Alex was a very independent and self-sufficient woman by nature. So it didn''t sit well with her that she was currently so dependent on these two random youngsters. As a grown-ass woman, she felt a bit insecure to rely on others so much. There was absolutely no guarantee that these two random guys would continue to help her get through this. At the least, she had to do her part and make sure that her presence was a valuable addition to this makeshift team. "So what if I don''t have any abilities like these people? I can also strengthen myself." She clutched the edge of her shirt and silently resolved to herself. As blankly gazed at the two boys in front of her, Xu Meilin had also opened her eyes. She was currently resting in Su Yan''s arms and Lu Chen was also looking at her with great concern. Xu Meilin beamed, revealing a big wide smile. It felt like a dream to be doted on by her idol crushes. She might be floating in a dreamland, but Su Yan was more concerned about other things. "Are you okay? Can you move your body?" He asked. He wanted to make sure that the girl could walk around and wasn''t going to be a burden to their escape plan. "If you are the one taking care of me, then I will be more than okay." She shyly replied. She wanted to praise Su Yan for his bravery. Hearing her flattering reply, both Su Yan and Lu Chen awkwardly scratched their heads, while Alex facepalmed loudly. Clearly, this girl was more interested in forming a relationship with the guys rather than worrying about what really happened to the monster in the bedroom. Alex scoffed and stepped away from there. She busied herself and started doing some light stretching and workout to get more into shape. Chapter 19: Shop feature ______________ Name: Qin Hua Species: Shadow hound Grade: Mid-tier Beast (Evolution possible) Level 5 (720/2800) ______________ Health: 300 Mana: 1 Strength: 21 Agility: 21 Stamina: 21 ______________ Skills: Beastial Mana absorption (Passive; Gain 1 mana attribute every day) Blending into darkness (Merge indistinguishably into the darkness, Level 0) Leech Bite (Drains the target health by 1hp/sec, Level 0) Nibble (Deals the target damage proportional to physical strength, Level 3) Plead (Deters the target from attacking by gaining target''s favor, Level 2) Whine (Attracts the attention of the target, Level 1) ______________ Qin Hua licked her lips, staring at the status window. She was still unable to believe that she had received so many experience points and somehow leveled up. It was definitely because of her contribution in killing the mana zombie but after thinking a lot Qin Hua came to another conclusion as well. It was possible that she had landed the last attack in the fight against the mana zombie. Even though her small body had been flung aside mercilessly, her leech bite might have still been active and taken the last bits of the mana zombie''s life. Not that the thing was alive in the first place. This was the only explanation that she could come up with and it was definitely worth exploring as she could amass a lot of experience points in this way. [Arghh! So confusing! If only I had played some games instead of studying all the time!!!] [Ok, let''s put that aside for now.] Her gaze then swept past her experience bar and gazed at her upgraded attributes. [Waaah! All my attributes are higher!] [Wait a minute. They are higher alright, but when compared to these guys¡­?] Qin Hua couldn''t help but wonder how her improved stats compared with the four humans surrounding her and well, also the cat. As someone who liked to be prepared for things in advance, she wanted a rough estimate to be able to better gauge her strength. Otherwise, in the next battle, which they would inevitably be fighting in, she wouldn''t be able to contribute properly to the fullest of her abilities. And this could be the difference between her entire group''s life and death! [Too bad this leech bite skill did not upgrade after that fight. That is definitely the best skill I have right now.] [Can I upgrade it by biting these guys? Nyaa¡­ Too risky. I don''t understand the skill well enough to do that.] [It looks like I need an actual enemy, otherwise, I won''t be able to activate the skill and level it.] [Huff. Alright. Let''s put this matter aside.] She narrowed her eyes and continued staring at the screen. Another glaring issue was her mana attribute. At first, the passive Beastial Mana absorption looked good, but now Qin Hua didn''t like it as much. Though this means that with every single day she gains an additional mana attribute, it was simply too slow! Moreover, other beasts would also be getting stronger and stronger in the meantime. [Fuu! Ok, let''s not think about this too for now. None of my skills consume mana yet and I don''t have any spells. So it should be ok for now.] [Hmm¡­ Does this ''Blending into darkness'' skill cost mana?] [Waaah! Why is everything so difficult!!!] Qin Hua rubbed her small furry head on the couch cushion. Too many questions and not enough answers. She was going crazy. [Aish. I should calm down and figure out things one by one.] As she closed her status screen, various thoughts running inside her brain, another couple of notifications popped up in front of her. Woof! Woof! Qin Hua did not expect this and almost jumped out of the couch in shock. [More notifications?] [What is this shop thing? Can I buy some super treasures???] [Damn. Open up. Open up. Open up. Quick.] Obeying her command, a big translucent blue window popped up in front of her. However, it was mostly grayed out, save for two slots. [What the heck? This gray thing means I can''t buy all this stuff?] Qin Hua sighed in disappointment, but her ears quickly perked up as she eyed the two slots that were actually available to her right now. [Inspect] - Cost: 2 Skill points; Allows the user to obtain information about an object, both animate and inanimate; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Space vault] - Cost: 10 Skill points; A dimensional magic spell that enables the user to store various items; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [So good!!! Both these skills are too good!] She licked her lips in excitement. [They are expensive though. I have only 5 skill points now. How do I get more?] [Hmm¡­ And what are these stat points?] Woof! Woof! [So this system was an interactive one from the very beginning? Aish. Alright. Let me first purchase the Inspect skill.] Chapter 20: Will the puppy turn? While Qin Hua was messing around with the System Interface, Su Yan and Lu Chen were still digesting the horrendous events of the day. "It''s dark outside now. We don''t know what monsters are lurking around in the complex in this darkness." Lu Chen nervously mumbled. Ever since he had seen those rats downstairs, he didn''t want to step out at all. He just wanted to stay put here until the government or military rescue teams arrived. "Hmm¡­ I agree."Su Yan lightly nodded. Even he had begun to rethink the whole plan to escape the apartment complex now that visiting Sister Min was a complete bust. They knew that they definitely needed to get out of here. Their apartment complex, though high-end, still had several units within it and they did not exactly know how many more people were affected and had turned into zombies. There was already that one other monster that had been banging on the stairwell door back on their floor. However, at the same time, the open road could be much worse with mutated animals and zombies both crawling together. At least in here, they didn''t have to worry about mutated animals. Or maybe they did¡­ There were simply too many variables and everyone was tired. "At least in this nighttime, it is definitely more dangerous to venture out. Besides, we have also killed the monster in the bedroom. " Su Yan pensively added. He was afraid to call that monster by its former name, acknowledge that monstrosity as the kind and gentle sister Min... Why are both human beings and beasts turning this way? He didn''t understand. "Let''s stay here for tonight and use the food in the refrigerator." "We need to make sure that we eat enough and have sufficient energy to carry out our escape tomorrow." Su Yan continued with the planning. Alex did not want to freeload with the brothers and offered her help. "Why don''t we take turns to stay awake and have a sort of lookout or watch duty during the night?" "That way at least the rest of us will get a chance to catch some sleep and rest well." "I can take the first shift for a couple of hours. You guys can sleep first and I will immediately alert everyone if something weird happens." Hearing her suggestion, both Su Yan and Lu Chen positively nodded their heads. They were impressed with Alex''s initiative for being helpful in the group and surprisingly Lu Chen had stopped bickering with the woman as well. "I will take the shift after Alex." Lu Chen volunteered. He was followed by Su Yan and then finally Xu Meilin was assigned the last shift. Fortunately for them, Sister Min had recently cooked a lot of food and stored it in the fridge. The four of them had a quite sumptuous dinner, consisting of grilled meat, vegetables, and fried rice. Sister Min also had some organic meat paste for dogs that Su Yan carefully fed to Little White. [Damn! Stingy jerks! Give me some.] [Why can''t I eat the spicy barbecue pork that these guys are gulping down?] [Damn it. I want to eat the tasty things too!] Qin Hua silently whined. Thinking that the puppy was asking for some more food, Su Yan shoved another spoonful of that meat paste onto her plate. [....] Qin Hua cried and silently ate. It was already late in the night, so the four of them finished eating and rested in the living room, with the bedroom door tightly shut to prevent any and all views of that ghastly horrendous dead body splattered all across the floor and the walls. The living room had a huge sectional couch, so each one of them took one section and comfortably settled down. Alex, on the other hand, sat down on a chair in high alert, with her back against a wall and her eyes focused on both the living room window and the main door. Thankfully, the late sister Min was only able to afford a studio apartment and hence it was easier to secure the small place. Soon the night ticked by slowly and silently, but except for Xu Meilin, no one else was asleep yet. Along with Alex, both Su Yan and Lu Chen were wide awake. Even though the fight with the monster had thoroughly drained out their energy, they were still wide awake, adrenaline coursing through their body. "Bro, is your ability like a transmutation ability or a beast-like ability?" Lu Chen turned around and quietly whispered. He was very happy that his best friend also had an ability like him and hoped that together they could rock this bizarre world. "Hmm¡­ I don''t really know what my ability is¡­" Su Yan answered. He raised his hand and looked at it with a blank expression on his face. "One moment I was staring at the monster and the next moment my skin had turned into something else." "My arm was covered by hard scales like that of a fish or snake, albeit very tough and strong. I tried to extend it to other regions of the body to protect myself but I couldn''t..." Su Yan absentmindedly continued talking as if he was mumbling to himself rather than having a conversation with Lu Chen. After several minutes of silence, Lu Chen again turned around and asked. This time with a very worried expression. "Do you think that something like this will also happen to our little white?" He looked at the puppy which was peacefully lying on the floor next to Su Yan. "I mean¡­ After seeing these monsters and mutated rats¡­ I am just a bit skeptical. Do you think that our Little White will get affected too?" "She did bite into that monster as if she was defending us. Do you think that she can get infected or something from that?" "I mean¡­ like zombies?" Lu Chen nervously asked. He didn''t really want to think about this possibility, but it''s not like they had a choice. Qin Hua''s ears perked up and she intently listened to the conversation. She was also not asleep yet. Chapter 21: I like this family Su Yan sadly tilted his head down and looked at the alert little puppy in his arms. Just like always, the little darling looked cute and adorable, with its snow-white fur and the pair of green and blue round eyes. "I don''t think that is the case. Something tells me that there is more to her and she cannot be affected. " Su Yan replied. He knew that he was probably not making any sense but it was a weird gut feeling. The rats had changed. Sister Min had changed and perhaps the little puppy might also change? But if she were to change wouldn''t she have already done so? Moreover, though sister Min was affected, they themselves were still normal. So perhaps not every animal and every human being was affected? Or perhaps everyone was affected but only some lost their mind! There were endless questions and endless possibilities but these were only theories at this point. Su Yan had a feeling that things were going to become exceedingly clear soon enough. Lu Chen as well agreed with his viewpoint and it was obvious that neither of them had any intentions of throwing out Qin Hua just yet. After a while, when both the guys finally dozed off, Qin Hua couldn''t help but sigh in relief. She laid still and awake beside Su Yan''s warm body, thankful for their compassion and love. She was genuinely happy to have found such a caring and decent family, at least in her second life. She gazed at the sleeping humans and silently pondered. [ Woof! I need to figure out my new abilities and finish the daily quests.] She muttered inwardly with resolution. She knew that she needed to become much much stronger to protect herself and this newfound family. Her gaze then casually flickered to the tabby cat lying next to Xu Meilin and sleeping peacefully. She gave it an awkward smile. [Sorry buddy! This missy needs some easy experience points. I would rather beat you up ten times than face another one of that weird mana zombies.] [You understand right? This is nothing personal. I swear I will try my best to control my strength.] She lifted her little paw suavely and blew on it before pouncing back on the floor and strutting towards the tabby furball. However, luckily for the cat, she flipped open the quest menu one more time before leaping into action when she noticed that the quest was no longer active. [Oops! Let''s brake the pedals.] She immediately stopped and did a u-turn returning back to Su Yan''s side. The quest had actually expired! Quests can expire! Qin Hua sighed with realization. Thankfully, Qin Hua noticed it before pummeling down the cat. [Guess, I will also take a rest now?] She leaped back up onto the couch and snuggled next to Su Yan, returning to her previous position. [Woof. Wait a second. Why am I feeling not tired at all?] Qin Hua remembered feeling pretty tired after the fight with the zombie but miraculously everything had disappeared after a few seconds¡­ when she had leveled up? [Woof. This is definitely something important that I must clarify. System. Do my health and stamina recover during these level-ups?] Woof! Woof! She barked in excitement, licking her lips. She could already tell how useful this was going to be during long drawn-out battles. Now all she needed to do was find a loophole for fast leveling every now and then and that could be one of her trump cards. [Alright then, let''s take a nap for now.] She tucked her tail in quietly and went back to her lazy pose, trying to get some sleep. She had in fact wanted to try out her other new ability, blending into darkness, but it was not the time for it just yet. Alex was watching her actions like a hawk, even daring to get amused by it! Surely, not revealing her abilities was not too viable in the long run but for now, she didn''t want to risk getting thrown out of the group. She looked at Alex and then at the other three humans who were fast asleep. [One of these bozos will surely sleep on their watch! Woof! And then I can practice!] With her green eye open and her blue eye closed, she lazily rolled. While Qin Hua eyed Alex, she as well glanced at the puppy ever so often and chuckled at her antics. Perhaps if they were not sitting ducks in the middle of what looked like an apocalypse she would have played with the cheeky puppy more, but now she was not in a mood for it. She was keeping the first watch and she was determined to stay alert. After sitting for a while, Alex paced back and forth restlessly, walking over to the door every other minute. She peeped through the keyhole to make sure that no one suspicious was lurking around. She then sat down on the window ledge in the living room staring into the distant full moon. The moon was still the same, white in color and crescent-shaped but everything else had changed drastically, her own life now turned upside down. "Sigh¡­ At least my stupid company only wanted my soul, sucking me dry, day in and day out, but now these monsters are after my actual life." She giggled lightly, murmuring to herself. Alex hated her job, which involved long working hours and low wages, but now, considering everything she had mixed feelings. "Well¡­ whatever¡­ at least I don''t have to work like a brainless ghoul anymore." She thought to herself and sighed, feeling lighter in her shoulders as if a great burden was removed. She then slowly stood back up to once again resume her pacing back and forth and regularly checking the main door''s keyhole. Chapter 22: Power-packed punches After Alex, it was Su Yan''s turn to keep watch. He as well looked through the keyhole every now and then but for the rest of the time, he tried exploring his new abilities. For a gaming addict like himself, it was ironic that the world suddenly became an RPG game with everyone developing superpowers, but in this game, there was only one life! Su Yan stood in front of a decorative mirror in the apartment and pondered silently. "How do I control my abilities?" He knew that he needed to figure this out as soon as possible because their lives depended on it, but at the same time, he didn''t know where to start. After thinking about it for a while, and flexing and relaxing his non-existent biceps and triceps, the only result he got was a constipated look on his face. So he ended up standing in a semi-squat position and started throwing punches in the air. He swung his hands rhythmically left after right and kept repeating it as if he was training for kickboxing. He honestly did not know what else to do at the moment and summon his so-called ability. After a while, he had already subconsciously closed his eyes and started recollecting the fight between him and the monster. Scene after scene flashed past in his mind as he relived that terror once again and suddenly he found his body welling up with a tangible strength. Su Yan flashed his eyes open as he recognized this feeling. He felt his hands itch and he saw black metallic scales with a sheen covering both his arms. "I need to memorize this feeling!" He clenched his fist, feeling strong power coursing through his veins, and started throwing punches in the air once again. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! But this time, the air around his hands vibrated, resonating to the power-packed in his punches. "Fuck! This is insane!" Su Yan grinned. "Wait, can I spread this armor over my entire body?" He gritted his teeth and tried willing it to extend to the rest of his body, but nothing happened. "Hmm¡­ I guess this will have to do for now." He stopped trying to do that and focused back on just summoning and dismissing the scales covering his arms. For the first few times, it was very irregular, but slowly and steadily Su Yan was able to achieve adequate control. He calmed his mind and heart and practiced and that helped him. He then continued to drill this muscle memory into his bones so that the next time when they faced danger he would be able to summon these scales irrespective of his mental state. Though after a while, Su Yan felt extremely drained and he had no other option but to stop training. He was feeling very light-headed and even hungry. So he sat back down and then munched on some leftovers. "I guess using these abilities consume a lot of energy?" he thought to himself. He sighed, letting out a deep breath. Though they were in a miserable position with no clue of what was about to come, he felt slightly better knowing that he now had some control over his ability. A few feet away from him, Qin Hua was watching Su Yan the entire time while pretending to be asleep. She rolled her eyes at the young man, visibly jealous. [I also want to practice, damn it!] But unfortunately, Su Yan did not give her a chance and neither did Lu Chen who followed after him. Though the latter took no efforts to train his abilities like Su Yan, he still remained quite alert. And so, another couple of hours ticked by entirely uneventful. Finally, it was Xu Meilin''s turn to keep watch until daybreak. Hers was the last turn. Qin Hua''s little face perked up as soon as she saw the young girl rub her eyes sleepily in the first few minutes itself. Though she was somewhat awake and somewhat alert, Qin Hua was sure that her absence wouldn''t be noticed at all. She was not even her pet, so why would the girl care about her? [Yass! This is my chance.] [System, how do I activate this blending into darkness skill?] She asked excitedly. Qin Hua bobbed her head up and down as if she was nodding and then immediately tried it. Poof! The very next instant her physical body disappeared completely, leaving behind only a wisp of black smoke-like material, which then disappeared as well. Qin Hua now found herself in the shadow of the sectional couch, just adjacent to where she had been rolling around until now. But she felt weird. She couldn''t really see or feel her physical body anymore with any of her senses. It was as if her body was a part of the shadow. She was two-dimensional at least for the moment. [What is this? Am I invisible? Can I jump from shadow to shadow?] She was getting excited. She tried moving from one end of the couch to the other end and bingo, she was there. She had actually run across the shadow but still in a two-dimensional state. [How is this happening? Woof!] Qin Hua was going crazy with questions. [System, can you explain this please?] A small and short explanation rang out. [Ahhh! What is this dark realm?] [So strict! Woof! Woof! Can I use puppy dog eyes on this damned system¡­] Qin Hua cried inwardly as she started experimenting with things on her own. She ran from shadow to shadow, areas of darkness without light, jumping across wildly in the living room. And when she was not in a shadow, her small body became instantly visible. It again disappeared when she landed on the next shadow. It felt surreal but Qin Hua slowly got used to it. Soon she was going in and out of the darkness as if it was second nature to her. It didn''t take her too long to adjust. After all, she was simply running around and doing nothing special. She noticed that she could even easily climb on walls as long as the shadow was big enough. Her shadow form was not bound by gravity. And more importantly, the entire time, Xu Meilin never saw her shenanigans! This ability was almost like an invisibility cloak! As long as she remained within a shadow or the darkness, no one would probably notice her. [Ah¡­ So this is Blending into darkness. Not bad. Not bad at all.] The little puppy licked its lips in satisfaction. Chapter 23: Reconnaissance Qin Hua looked around to see that all the humans and also the cat were still fast asleep. Of course, Xu Meilin was still somewhat awake but only barely. [Ok. It looks like I still have some time. Woof. Maybe I will head outside and take a look at things beforehand.] She activated her skill Blending into darkness and quietly slipped out from under the front door without waking anyone up. [Waaah! So cool!] The slightly bigger puppy wagged its tail, feeling amazed by her own skills. But once she was outside the door, her figure instantly materialized as the corridor was fully lighted. It was also eerily quiet which made Qin Hua nervous. [Where should I go first?] She pondered, while cautiously walking and blending into the bits of shadows she found here and there. [I should go and check the stairwell door on our apartment''s floor first.] She could never forget those loud banging noises and the terrifying fist impressions on that thick steel door. And now having seen the transformed Sister Min, she wondered if that back there was a mana zombie as well, perhaps a higher-level one. [System, if I use the inspect skill whilst I am in the shadow form, will I get made?] Qin Hua asked, for which she immediately got the answer. Qin Hua nodded and then headed over to the same fire escape they had used to climb down. She peeked her small head out and saw a string of continuous shadow cast by the thin ladder. [I should be able to go up and down using this right?] She nervously gulped, her eyes shifting from looking up above to down below. Earlier she had been conveniently carried around like a potato sack by Su Yan, but now looking at the height, she was getting second thoughts. [Fuuuck! Hell no. This is way too risky. I don''t want to die stupidly by falling down from the 7th floor.] She shook her head and ran away from the fire exit. Instead of using the fire exit, she decided to slip under the stairwell door just like how she had done for getting past the front door. By doing so chances were that she might come face to face with another mana zombie but that was still better than falling from the 7th floor because of a flickering shadow or something like that. [Here we go.] The puppy took a deep breath and quickly blended in once again. Luckily for her, the stairwell was not lit and it was completely dark. So Qin Hua quickly reached the 9th floor after climbing two sets of stairs. [Woof! Yass!] As she neared the last set of stairs, even though currently in a sort of stealth mode, Qin Hua still became extra cautious and careful in case the monster had the ability to detect her presence. She slowly tiptoed up to the stairwell door and once she could see the silhouette slumped against the door, not banging it any longer, she paused her movements. [Inspect!] Qin Hua''s heart was thumping wildly inside her small puppy chest. She had never done anything like this before so she was finding it difficult to remain calm. The figure in front of her was clearly human but the eyes¡­ were bright white in color as if a tube light was glowing inside the human body¡­ just like sister Min. [Ah~ 10 levels above me? Let''s leave first.] She slowly started backing away. [So this man also had an inner ability like Su Yan and Lu Chen!] Just judging from the strength he had used to almost unhinge the door, she could roughly guess what type of inner ability he might have had. [System, can you give me more details? What ability? Can he still use it?] Qin Hua licked her lips nervously. [Tsk. Tsk. So stingy. Guess I need to quickly level up my skills and make them more useful. Let''s finish this trip first.] If there were 2 mana zombies¡­ one dead and one alive¡­ then there were probably more. She needed to find out more details about this as soon as possible, otherwise, everyone''s lives will be inevitably in danger. Still in her shadow form, Qin Hua ran away from the mana zombie on the 9th floor and slipped out from underneath the stairwell door on the 8th floor. She then started systematically peeking into the several apartments, beginning from the one closest to the stairwell. She hid carefully in the small stretch of darkness underneath the front door in each apartment, only going in further if necessary. There were ten apartments in total on the floor and the first three were empty. On the fourth one, Qin Hua noticed a man sitting quietly on the couch, not moving or perhaps not even breathing. His eyes were closed. [Inspect.] The puppy immediately stiffened up, waiting for the results. [Woah! A level 3 zombie! I am level 5, can I kill this guy myself?] She pondered but didn''t risk knowing the answer just yet. She quietly slipped out and peeped into the next apartment. With every apartment complex she surveyed, Qin Hua''s face darkened more and more. In the last apartment, she saw a woman sitting rigidly like a statue on the floor and the bodies of what looked like her children were laid around her, smashed into bits and pieces. She almost puked at the gore-filled scene, quietly backing out of that apartment as well. She had now done a full circle of all the apartments on the 8th floor, coming back again to the stairwell. [I should go back to the group.] She furrowed her brows and started running back. If there were mana zombies here, then it was only logical that there were mana zombies on their floor as well. So Qin Hua wanted to quickly rejoin the group as soon as possible, lest something terrible happens. Now that she knew about the various dangers lurking in this apartment complex, she had a bad feeling in her heart. But as she climbed down the stairs and slipped out from under the stairwell door and reached the 7th floor, standing in front of her was a creature with shining red eyes. Chapter 24: Rat vs Qin Hua! Qin Hua momentarily froze at the sight of the huge red-eyed rat-like animal that was clearly several times bigger than a normal rat. Perhaps it was less scary to a normal human being but to the Qin Hua right now, it looked gigantic, almost as if it was the same size as her. The system notifications snapped her out of her trance and Qin Hua quickly muttered without missing a beat. [Inspect] Almost at the same time, the rat got over its surprise as well and pounced on Qin Hua, baring its huge teeth and claws at her. [Whaaaat? You are just level 2??? What''s with your attitude, you rat bastard??] After seeing the stats, Qin Hua now more confidently faced the rat, meeting its attack head-on or rather, she head-butted the animal directly. She hadn''t picked a fight with the mana zombies earlier because all of them were weirdly quiet as if they were hibernating or something, and she didn''t want to start a chain reaction, sending all the zombies in the apartment complex into a frenzy. But since this rat dared to attack her first, of course, she wouldn''t let this chance slip by. [Let''s finish this fast before the damned guy calls for backup!] Qin Hua hurried, the memory of the small mound of rats still fresh in her brain. After the head butting, both the rat and Qin Hua didn''t wait and started attacking each other in a frenzy. The rat opened its mouth intending to take a big juicy bite out of her and she as well mirrored its action revealing her canines. Leech bite! Nibble! Qin Hua managed to bite it twice before the rat pulled away, unable to land its attack. Since her agility was higher than the rat, the fight was pretty much a piece of cake for her. Blood dripped out of its back where Qin Hua had torn off a huge chunk of flesh and the rat looked enraged, shrieking loudly. [Damn you! Don''t you dare wake up the others!] She charged towards the rat again to finish it once and for all, when she noticed its eyes turning a brighter red. Suddenly, the rat managed to dodge her attack, its speed almost the same as hers, and came back at her, aiming for her throat. Qin Hua immediately dodged the incoming attack by blending into a nearby shadow, leaving the monster extremely confused. It spun its body around because it could clearly still sense her and smell her and when its back was facing towards her, Qin Hua leaped out again to bite it in the same wound and this time completely tearing it apart. Her Level 5 strength was not a joke. <200 Experience points have been rewarded> [Fu Fu Fu! Aren''t I awesome! You rats better scram the next time you see me!] Qin Hua celebrated her first solo kill by jumping around up and down in excitement. Fighting back like this and not feeling helpless was truly exhilarating! [Oops! I should head back now before the others realize that I am missing.] She quickly tried to lick and clean her mouth covered by the blood of the rat, when she noticed something glittered inside the dead body beside her. It was a small white spherical orb. Qin Hua used her teeth to carefully grab the orb and tear it away from the rat''s flesh, but she inadvertently bit it, making the orb break and dissolve like candy inside her mouth. Woof! Cough! Cough! She tried to spit it out but it was already gone. [NooO!] Her eyes widened and before she could ask the system if she had eaten something weird or poisonous, a wave of energy swept through her body and a small notification popped up. [Ahhh~~] Qin Hua grinned, realizing that this was something beneficial and not poisonous. Perhaps farming for white orbs like this was the key to become stronger and deal with this new world! She wondered if the rest of the monster meat gave out stats like this as well? But she didn''t have the time to eat it now and she didn''t have the skill points to purchase the spatial bag yet, so she could only leave it behind and quickly run back to the apartment where the rest of the group was resting. Qin Hua stealthily slipped back into the apartment and then looked around to see the occupants still dozing off including Xu Meilin. [Phew! I made it!] She was about to jump on Su Yan and wake him up, as these idiots were sleeping without realizing the beehive they were trapped in when suddenly she thought of something else. The zombie''s corpse! Does it also have a white orb?? She quietly slipped into the shadow under the door, entering the bedroom, and saw the zombie''s almost mashed-up corpse on the floor. Its upper body was still somewhat intact and Qin Hua started tearing it apart and before long, a small white orb came into her view. [Bingo! I knew it! Woof! Ok, now time for the second part of the plan.] She turned the head around so that the orb was clearly visible and then started barking loudly. Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! And the very next second, everybody in the house woke up with a jump! "What? What? What?" Lu Chen screamed, while Su Yan muffled a yawn and stood up. "Little White?" He looked around to see that the puppy was missing or rather it was barking from the other side of the bedroom. "Wasn''t the bedroom door closed? How did she get in?" Alex as well got up and stretched. Xu Meilin, on the other hand, darted her eyes here and there nervously, hoping that the guys wouldn''t realize that she had slept off completely during her watch. She didn''t mean to but somehow it had happened. It was not like she could take it back now! Luckily for her, Qin Hua barked again, instantly attracting all the attention and Su Yan quickly ran over to open the bedroom door, worried if something had happened. Lu Chen, as well, stuck close to him and the two of them stared at Qin Hua dumbfoundedly as they opened the door and saw the sight that was waiting for them! Chapter 25: Chaos Part1 The two guys wordlessly stared at the puppy standing in front of them or rather the dog standing in front of them. The small puppy was somehow an adult dog now and she was about 15 inches in height. And it was not simply just the height and weight, but also the look in her eyes was different, with a majestic lycan aura surrounding her. Her pure snow white fur had a grayish tinge and only remained white on the legs, underbelly part, and some areas of the neck and face. And to make matters worse, the dog''s mouth was smeared with blood. From how it looked, she had chewed and torn away flesh and bones from the neck of the corpse lying on the floor. Both Su Yan and Lu Chen might have mistaken Qin Hua for some other mutated dog if not for her right eye shining like an emerald while her left eye brilliant blue in color. "Little White?" Su Yan called and hurried over to check on the dog. She looked friendly enough and did not possess any maddened craze so he didn''t think too much before dashing towards her. While he checked on the dog, Lu Chen''s eyes caught something white and shiny lying on the floor, inside the corpse''s head, half-exposed and half-hidden. He walked closer towards it and picked it up, tearing it away from the flesh. He had barely held it in his hand for a second when the orb started slowly disappearing. It evaporated, the invisible fumes entering his own body. Lu Chen felt a cool sensation pervading his body as well as a weird strength and vigor. "Dude." He shouted calling for Su Yan''s attention, who was now much more relaxed after making sure that Little White was alright, of course, except for the tripling of the size overnight and the change in the fur coat. The dog still seemed to be very fond of him and even licked his hand a couple of times which he knew that she was not very fond of and seldom did. He got up while cleaning the dog''s mouth with his shirt that he had removed and walked over to Lu Chen. "What happened?" His friend was weirdly looking at his limbs and shaking them out. "There was a small ball inside its head which just now dissolved into my body." Lu Chen explained. "Dissolved into your body? What are you blabbering about?" "Bro, listen to me. I took it in my hand and then it disappeared but I felt it in my body like¡­ Like I just drank two shots of red bull. Do you understand?" Hmmm¡­ Su Yan silently looked at him. "Wait. Let me show you this. I think I can do it now." Lu Chen raised his hand and hurriedly aimed at the wall in front of him. "Ice spear. Ice. Ice cube. Come out. Come out. Come out." He shouted with excitement in his voice. And the next instant, making everyone gasp, a small thick pointed rod emerged from his palm, hitting the wall in front of them at a high speed. BANG! "See. See. I told you. I think there might be these balls inside the zombies that can make us stronger? What do you think? Am I right? Am I right?" [Wow! Not bad!] Qin Hua licked her lips. Thanks to this guy hitting the nail right on its head, her plan to teach a couple of things to her teammates worked out smoothly. Woof! They might have eventually learned it on their own but then so many orbs would go to waste and their power level will stagnate which was why she decided to take action. The two guys then discussed things for a while, even searching the rest of the zombie''s body for any more of the white balls or the orbs. Both Alex and Xu Meilin didn''t feel like digging around in the blood and flesh and stayed in the living room. They were rather concerned about the weather outside, especially the dark and stormy sky. The sky had been growling for a while now as if it was alive with huge flashes of lightning and extremely loud thunders. It was also raining heavily which didn''t help with the gloomy atmosphere. After a few minutes, Su Yan and Lu Chen were done analyzing the zombie completely from head to toe and they walked out of the room, along with Qin Hua wagging her tail behind them. She was now a bit too big for Su Yan to carry her around and she herself hadn''t realized it until he squatted next to her and petted her. She had been running around all night and hadn''t paid attention to this, but it was not like she was surprised by this. After all, she had jumped to Level 5 all of a sudden. Also, from the looks of it, the size increase had been a gradual albeit faster than normal change and not a burst growth. Otherwise, she would have caught it sooner. While Qin Hua was admiring her own reflection on a shelf''s glass pane and Su Yan and the others were talking about the zombie''s mana core, suddenly, the sky outside turned to pitch dark for a second as if it was nighttime but without the moon and the stars, resembling an eclipse. A loud rumble echoed which made almost everyone jump in fright and not just the girls and the sky immediately cleared up afterward. "What the hell?" Alex and Lu Chen both complained at the same time and before anyone could relax, flashes of black lightning struck the earth, some of which the group was able to see from their window. At the place where the lightning touched the earth, a black-colored whirlpool sort of swirl formed, and almost at the same time, a wave of energy washed over the entire planet. Even Alex and Xu Meilin who hadn''t shown any abilities yet were able to feel this invisible wave, making the latter hug her tabby cat tightly. A green hand stuck out of the black whirlpool on the paved and cemented road and a thin green-skinned creature with a contorted face, only slightly resembling that of a human face, slowly surfaced, stepping out of the black swirl. "JESUS! What the hell is that?" Lu Chen shouted and before he could finish his sentence, a loud collective uproar resounded in the apartment complex as if a hundred lions were roaring, making all of them shudder. The others were too shocked to think about this uproar specifically but Qin Hua knew exactly what it was!!! [It couldn''t be¡­ It couldn''t be, right?] The several zombies who she had seen in the different apartments, just sitting still and rocking back and forth¡­ were they all now awake??? And what is this green-colored creature, an alien??? Chapter 26: Chaos Part2 As the group except for Qin Hua stared outside gawking at the green-skinned thin and short creature, the creature suddenly turned and looked right at them with its big beady little eyes. "FUCK!" Lu Chen shouted and both Alex and Xu Meilin screamed. "That''s a goblin." Su Yan tried to remain calm and understand the situation but even he trembled when the goblin who had stepped out started running towards their building in their direction. As if that was not enough, more and more goblins started pouring out of the black hole on the street. Luckily for them, the creatures scattered in all directions running helter-skelter in the abandoned street. Only that one goblin was rushing towards their direction. There was a good distance between their building and the hole on the street but still, the creature seemed to be very fast. "Get away from the windows, NOW!" Su Yan shouted and quickly prepared to run outside, but even that felt like a death sentence as weird roars resounded from all parts of the apartment complex. There was danger outside and there was danger inside and no one had any clue as to what they were supposed to do and how they were supposed to survive. Only one thing was abundantly clear to them! They had to fight in order to survive in this weird delusional world. They had to FIGHT! Su Yan was faster to adapt to the situation compared to the others and Lu Chen also wasn''t that far behind him. The two girls were taking it the worst. Woof! Woof! Qin Hua on the other hand was barking loudly, trying to get their attention to the shit storm that was outside. However, her barks were drowned in the loud roars and banging noises. "Listen up. Take these and stick close to us." Su Yan quickly opened a kitchen drawer and threw a knife at both Alex and Xu Meilin. He was then about to say something to Lu Chen when a loud banging noise sounded on their door. "Save me. Save me. Save me. Please. I am begging you." The next second, the door fell down completely unhinged and a beefy tall man with eyes bright and hollow stared at the human beings inside. "Ahhh¡­" The fat man who had been crying for help earlier fell down on the ground, whimpering, and tried to crawl away from the zombie as fast as he could. The zombie''s eyes were no longer fixated on the fat man and it instead started dashing towards the four human beings standing in front of it. Everyone knew the gravity of the situation but fear held them frozen. Both Su Yan and Qin Hua were the first to react and Su Yan immediately recollected the feeling which he had memorized several times yesterday night. His arms and fists were instantly covered by a layer of thick metallic scales and almost at the same time, he landed a punch on the mana zombie that had barged into the house. BANG! BANG! BANG! The zombie fell back stumbling and fumbling, its body almost smashed completely. Qin Hua stared dumbly with her jaw dropped. She had only gotten a single leech bite in but the fight was already over! [What the hell kind of power difference is this??? Woof!] She couldn''t help but grumble when a crisp notification chimed in. <10 Experience points have been rewarded> Her eyes went wide at the pathetic experience points gained. [Oh? Is this because I didn''t land the last hit and also didn''t contribute much to the fight??] But she didn''t have the time to remain salty over this small issue. Just as they had taken care of this single zombie, two more came running towards them at full speed from either side of the corridor. Weirdly, these zombies seemed to be ignoring the fat guy on the floor and Qin Hua and coming straight at Su Yan as if they could only sense and see him and no one else. Su Yan was not in the least perturbed as he quickly heaved a big breath in and prepared to take care of both the incoming turned humans. He twisted his body to punch one and then used his other hand to punch the next one when an ice spear landed on the zombie''s neck and took it down, blood splattering everywhere. "I got you, bro." Lu Chen shouted from behind. Qin Hua as well bit into everything in sight like a rabid dog and with Su Yan''s pummeling, the two new zombies were quickly brought down within seconds. The fat man dumbly stared at this scene as if he couldn''t believe his eyes. "Just¡­ Just what the hell are you guys???" He screamed in a weird squeaky voice as his throat had dried out from shouting for help. Chapter 27: Chaos Part3 "Get in for now." Su Yan mumbled and both he and Lu Chen immediately started digging the mana cores out of the two zombie corpses. Qin Hua wagged her tail and quickly dug out the one from the third zombie and as soon as she touched it, the core melted into her hand just like it had happened before. Both Su Yan and Lu Chen who had also absorbed their respective mana cores immediately turned around to look at Qin Hua. "Little White, you can also eat these things?? Nice!" Lu Chen immediately gave her a big thumbs up. Su Yan, on the other hand, walked over to her and checked her to see if she was injured. A shrill voice sounded behind them, unable to bear with things anymore. "Stop playing with your fucking dog. Can someone tell me what just happened?" "Sir, calm down." Alex furrowed her brows and muttered, clutching the knife in her hand tighter after seeing that the fat middle-aged man had no intention to calm down. "What the hell are you talking about? Can''t you see these things in front of you? What is going on? Someone tell me." He took a step closer and shouted at the two women. Qin Hua immediately dashed out of Su Yan''s hand and stood in front of the two girls, glaring at the man and growling at him. She hated men like these who only knew how to show their strength to women. Just a couple of seconds ago, he was shivering on the floor in front of the zombies, and now all of a sudden his voice was bold and loud. "Listen, uncle. No one knows what is happening. Stop shouting at us. As you can see things are going crazy and we are just trying to do our best." The middle-aged man immediately gulped. He paused for a second and then did a sudden 180-degree attitude change. "I am sorry young man. My name is Nan Zhong. I have blood pressure problems. That was why I became a bit emotional back then. Don''t mind me. Sorry. Sorry." He even turned and apologized to both Alex and Xu Meilin. "Can I please stick with your group for a while? My wife is already dead and I have no one else. I don''t even have any powers like you guys to defend myself against these things." Just as he was explaining, two roars sounded, followed by heavy footsteps and another pair of zombies rushed towards the two guys standing on the corridor. Their speed was higher than the zombies before so Lu Chen couldn''t react in time and Qin Hua didn''t use inspect. She directly pounced and bit the leg of the zombie on one side, while Su Yan once again punched the two while sloppily dodging their attacks. Thankfully her strength was now significant enough to tear the flesh of the zombie''s leg and the man lost his balance and stumbled around. Su Yan used this chance to quickly finish it off. Lu Chen blinked his eyes as the fight was over within a few seconds and their pet dog had reacted faster than him. He wanted to bury his head somewhere. "Sorry, bro. Next time, I will be more alert." He weakly smiled and scratched his head. "It''s alright. Keep an eye while I dig its core out." He replied and swiftly chopped off the head to get the mana core out, which disappeared soon afterward. Qin Hua didn''t stand on ceremony and was even faster than him, tearing away and taking the second core for herself. Su Yan chuckled at the dog''s eagerness and patted her head. For some reason, her expressions seemed very human to him, but he didn''t dwell on that thought and turned to look at Nan Zhong. "Uncle, you can stay with us, but you have to help. As you can see, these zombies are not too strong." "At least not all of them and you can become stronger by absorbing the cores from their body. So the more zombies you take care of the stronger you can become and protect yourself." "Same goes for you two as well." Su Yan sternly said, looking at the two women. He knew that they didn''t have powers like both of them but that didn''t mean that they could continue being scared and nervous and do nothing. " Please try to get over your fear as much as possible. You have sharp knives in your hand. Use it." "Just listen to all the roars echoing in this building. The entire apartment complex is filled with these zombies. There are probably not many survivors." "And outside the apartment, there are some weird creatures roaming around. We still have no idea what they are capable of." "I don''t know what else to say. This is the new reality and we need to adapt quickly to survive. Otherwise, we would become dead meat within seconds." "And things are only going to get worse and worse. We need every help that we can get. We can''t afford for anyone to be weak and reliant on others." Su Yan sighed. [You said it, boss! Woof!] Qin Hua shook her head, agreeing to her keeper''s words. She also didn''t like others leeching off of their hard work. This was not a school assignment where one person did the work and others shared credits. If everyone doesn''t collectively improve, it was obvious that they would be overwhelmed very soon. Chapter 28: Setting up base Part1 After settling things with the group and making sure that everyone had a weapon in their hands, including Lu Chen whose powers were still unsteady, Su Yan turned around to finish the job at hand and rid the zombies from their floor. He was not sure how many humans had turned into mindless zombies and how many had managed to maintain their sanity, but it was clear that they needed to take out these threats while they can and become as much stronger as possible without letting things get worse. So the small group, including the cat and the dog, all clinging to their weapons as if their life depended on it, proceeded to move cautiously, peeking into every single apartment on the floor. This was not an issue because it looked like most of the apartments already had their doors banged open, with the zombie inside damaging the door completely to get out rather than simply opening it. But not long after, two apartments down from where they were standing, the door suddenly opened up and a couple of elderly people dashed towards them, their eyes entirely whited out with a strange glow. Qin Hua quickly inspected the two zombies and saw that they were lower level ones. So she licked her lips ready to jump into action. Lu Chen as well had an ice spear ready to go in his hand as these two zombies had relatively lower speed. Their movements were also rather slow and sluggish. "Wait." Su Yan raised his hand to stop Lu Chen and then looked at the other three. "Can you guys tell that these two are very weak? Try dealing with them by yourself." Ah! Xu Meilin instantly stiffened up. "This¡­ I feel like we are taking unnecessary risk, young man." Nan Zhong mumbled, also not pleased with what was happening. Alex as well was clearly nervous but she clutched her knife tightly and took a step forward, swinging at the elderly male zombie who had reached them first. Kacha! The knife cut the old man''s chest, blood splurging out of it, which then Alex used and slashed at the same area completely injuring the man. The zombie was tremendously weakened and fell down stumbling, the other elderly female zombie reaching them at the same time. Seeing how Alex had bravely faced the monster, Xu Meilin suddenly felt a surge of confidence and also came to the front holding her butcher''s knife. She, however, became flustered as soon as the zombie let out a loud roar and started madly waving the huge butcher''s knife. "Ahhh!" Nan Zhong screamed and ducked down, the man almost injured by the young girl''s actions. "What the heck are you closing your eyes for???" He shouted in exasperation. "Mei Mei. Calm down." Lu Chen quickly came to help, but their remarks made the young girl snap her eyes back open and she threw the knife at the zombie in a panic, coincidentally hitting it right in the middle of its head and finishing it off in one swing. [What the heck is her luck???] Qin Hua rolled her eyes, but then at least both the parties made an effort. So she was fine with the outcome. [Of course¡­ except for you!] She looked at the middle-aged man still squatting on the corridor, next to her. She gave him a smug look, which made the guy frown at her and then turned around. "You both did great. Now dig out the white cores." Su Yan helped Meilin take out hers as her hand was still shaking, while Alex had already taken hers out. Both the women held their respective cores in their hand, which were instantly absorbed. "Hmm¡­ I don''t feel much different." Alex muttered. [That''s because it''s a level 1 core dummy! Woof! Let''s go!!! I want to become stronger!!!] Qin Hua impatiently started barking and jumping up and down, slightly ticked off that these slow pokes were holding her back. As if Su Yan read her mind, he scratched his head and shrugged lightly. "Let''s keep going. You will notice something when we hunt more." "The elevator is shut down and the stairwell door is locked and more sturdy. So as long as we are able to clear out the zombies from this floor, we can relax a little." He suggested to which everyone nodded. Things became much faster after that thanks to Su Yan''s raw strength and power with which he easily overwhelmed the zombies and knocked them down a peg before the others stepped in to finish them off. Since both the guys were video game addicts, they quickly adapted to the situation and started treating this real-life situation like a dungeon run with their in-game team. Su Yan acted like the tank while the rest provided DPS, well some more than the other. Within a matter of minutes, Qin Hua gained some more experience points and all of them had eaten up several mana cores. Luckily for them and unluckily for the actual victims, everyone except the five of them had turned on the 7th floor and the group managed to farm quite a bit as they cleaned out the entire floor. Absorbing the mana cores helped refresh their stamina, focus, and energy, so tiredness as well was not an issue. Without any hitch, the group easily slaughtered their way through and still had the energy to do more. "I think we should quickly head over to the next floors and clear as many as we can." Lu Chen wiped the sweat off of his face and excitedly exclaimed. "Yes. I agree. We are able to easily deal with these things, but I am sure there are others struggling and stuck in the building. We can help out as much as we can. We also need the grind." Su Yan nodded. "Eh? Are you crazy! Let''s just wait here for help. Those people are already dead. Can''t you see???" Nan Zhong tried to make them wait, but the group had already started moving and he could only grumble and follow them without any other option. "Idiots. Naive idiots. Trying to be heroes and dumbly jumping into the fire." He irritatedly muttered under his breath, which Qin Hua clearly heard. Chapter 29: Setting up base Part2 With a low grunt, Su Yan removed the sturdy stairwell door out of its hinges in one swift motion and placed it down casually as if it was made of just cardboard material. Thud. A small sound echoed which made everyone clutch their weapons tightly. The bunch of them then quickly made their way up the stairs while Qin Hua was puzzled as to why the Level 15 zombie hadn''t locked onto them yet. She had fully expected it to jump down and attack them. In fact, she had counted on it to gain faster experience points but it looked like it had run away somewhere else and the stairwell was empty. Woof! Qin Hua barked and dashed forward to the next floor to get her first dibs on the zombies. The door was already unhinged and laid on the ground, so she easily entered through. The others as well picked up their pace and quickly followed behind her, but it looked like they were too late. Except for the two Level 1 zombie stragglers, there was nothing else on the entire floor. Half of the apartments were empty and the other half had its inhabitants half-eaten or smashed to the ground into a paste. Su Yan encouraged the three people without any abilities to finish the two Level 1 zombies and this time Alex and even Xu Meilin''s movements were much smoother. The two women quickly finished off one zombie each, while Nan Zhong squinted his eyes looking at them. "Ok. Let''s move on to the next floor now." Su Yan frowned seeing the middle-aged man''s obvious behavior but he didn''t waste any time lecturing him again. Qin Hua shot forward as soon as she heard the command and quickly jumped over the stairs reaching the next floor. Compared to Alex and Xu Meilin, she was adapting much faster to this new world full of blood and gore even though she was a woman herself, well at least on the inside. Just like the 8th floor, the 9th floor of the apartment complex also had the stairwell door already broken down and it looked pretty much deserted. There were a total of 20 floors in the apartment complex and so the group had no other choice but to patiently check out each of the floors one after the other. "Hmm¡­ Guys. Can we stop for a minute? I am kind of hungry and tired?" Alex sighed and flopped onto the ground after they reached the 13th floor. There were not many zombies left on the upper floors and since they had been constantly moving around and fighting, it had become extremely tiresome. They also hadn''t come across any survivors so this seemed pointless. Su Yan looked around to see that the three without any abilities seemed more tired than the both of them, especially Nan Zhong was drenched in sweat from climbing the several flights of stairs. He paused for a minute and then suggested. "Why don''t you guys stay in this apartment for a few minutes and rest and eat something?" "Also salvage some food and supplies for our use, maybe in backpacks. In the meantime, I and Lu Chen will go check out the remaining floors quickly and meet you guys on the way back down." "Once we can secure the entire apartment and block all the entrances and exits, we can rest a little and decide what to do next." The three were too tired to oppose this idea and immediately nodded their heads, agreeing to the suggestion. "Little white! You be a good girl and stay with these three safely. Alright?" Su Yan patted the dog and the duo quickly dashed upstairs. And instantly, Qin Hua who was up until now acting like a docile obedient dog had stars twinkling in her eyes. She was exactly waiting for such an opportunity! While the three collapsed on the floor, huffing, and puffing, she quietly took a couple of steps back and disappeared into the shadow lingering nearby. [Let''s see who hunts the fastest! Woof!] She ran upwards following Lu Chen and Su Yan and directly headed to the next floor leaving the one the two guys were on right now. [Sweet! Let''s go!] The dog excitedly weaved in and out of the shadows and peeked through the various apartments. However, as she crossed every single apartment, the excitement faded from her wolf-like angular elegant face. There was not even a single survivor left and only bodies were littered everywhere. A putrid stench assaulted her nose and her strong sense of smell was not helping the situation. After running around for a while, she finally came across two Level 2 zombies which were stuck behind a sort of barricade that someone had set up with a huge table and a shelf and the wall. [Fu Fu Fu! Ripe for picking! ] Qin Hua licked her lips and quickly dived under the table. She started biting the two zombies alternating and took out huge chunks of their flesh, finally killing them off in a one-sided massacre. They weren''t even able to land a single hit on her thanks to the make-shift barricade. Qin Hua then quickly dug out the mana cores from the mess of flesh and bones and ate them up, before running to the next floor. Qin Hua felt a zap of energy pass through her body and she suddenly felt her feet carrying her faster than before. She grinned wildly at this new discovery and continued running upstairs. Her grind was now much faster with the dash ability and she jumped around more frantically. 15th floor, 16th floor, 17th floor¡­ Qin Hua searched through the mess and found nothing at all and finally, when she came to the 18th floor, she saw an apartment with its door still intact. She cautiously peeked from under the door and entered the apartment, only to immediately halt her paws. Two children were sitting on the couch in front of her and their eyes were closed, their eyeballs rapidly flickering behind their eyelids. Chapter 30: Twin trouble Part1 Qin Hua blinked and before she could even inspect the two kids, their eyes flashed open as if they had sensed her. They had neither seen her nor heard her come in but they had accurately sensed her presence. Their eyes were white just like the other zombies and Qin Hua could feel a strange violent aura seeping out of them. Her first instinct was to run away from this danger and she did exactly that. She dove back under the door and blended in with the shadow, quickly coming out the other end. She then was about to sprint away from the apartment of terror when a huge bang sounded behind her. [Eeek!] Qin Hua yelped, noticing that the place she had just stood a couple of seconds ago was completely charred. And in that two seconds she hesitated, another whooshing sound echoed and a sharp ice spear directly came at her, hitting her shadow form. Ding. -100 A damage number floated in front of her eyes, which widened even more seeing that she had lost about one-third of her health by just taking a single hit, that too in her shadow form. She didn''t even think that she could take actual damage in her shadow form and had always thought of that as a state of escape, so this was eye-opening for her. This was the first real damage she had taken and the surreal feeling that this was a matter of life and death and not an online game hit her hard. [Shitttt! I cannot take one more hit!] Qin Hua did not hesitate and activated her Dash skill. With all of her limbs shaking, she ran as fast as she could, diving into one shadow after another without turning back. She sprang under the stairwell door and ran upwards, not wanting to lead the two kids directly to Su Yan and Lu Chen. The kids as well followed her all the way to the stairwell and they blasted the strong door at its hinges with a couple of fireballs, making the door fly and fall down. But in the few seconds that they had taken to do this, Qin Hua had already put a good distance between them and herself by running up all the way to the 20th floor. She only paused when she saw that the kids were no longer following her. [Huff. Huff. That was very close! Damn it! Just what level are they?] She sighed in relief and panted, her stamina and her health slowly recovering back up, tick by tick. However, as she calmed down a bit, she suddenly realized something important. This small altercation had caused so much noise and commotion in the building so how could Su Yan and Lu Chen not have noticed it? Wouldn''t they directly rush towards the danger? The small wolf-like dog immediately stiffened up, the hair on her back standing erect. [Woof!] Qin Hua shook her head and made a snap decision. She let out a low growl and ran back down to the 17th floor where she had seen the two powerful kid zombies. And bingo! Just as she thought, Su Yan and Lu Chen had promptly rushed over to check out the noise, after getting tired of searching through the empty floors that Qin Hua had previously cleared out. [Nooo! Stop!] Qin Hua did not know what to do. She couldn''t alert her two friends without also alerting the two kids. However, she was already late. As Su Yan and Lu Chen took another step, the two kids walked out of the same apartment with their hands raised forward as if they were holding pistols ready to aim and fire. Their heads were down, but since their movements and features were rigid, at least the two guys were smart enough to know that the kids were no longer alive or rather conscious. They could tell that these two were mana zombies. Lu Chen immediately raised his hand to send out an ice spear, while Su Yan yelled out loud as he dashed forward. Bang! Bang! The attacks clashed with each other, and the small boy opened his mouth to breathe fire onto Su Yan who punched the little kid decisively without any mercy. The kid fell back but quickly got up. His entire body now swirled in flames as if he was on fire and started shooting out balls of flames at Su Yan. Su Yan''s face immediately changed. The kid in front of him was much stronger than any zombie he had previously fought. He tried his best to dodge the fireballs coming at him, but it was only inevitable that a few falls on him, and the places where he got hit, the cloth on his body, and the skin underneath it were instantly burnt to a crisp. Lu Chen also couldn''t help him as the other little girl barraged him with a volley of ice spears. His single ice spear attack was nothing in comparison to that attack and he shrieked in pain, dancing around, trying to avoid getting impaled by the sharp icicles raining down on him. Lu Chen tried to erect a sort of ice barrier but he was not able to concentrate or focus even for a second to do so. Su Yan, on the other end, gritted his teeth, bearing the pain, but his body wobbled, his movement speed slowed down, and now more and more fireballs were hitting him. The two of them were completely overwhelmed when suddenly blood splattered from the thin leg of the little boy who was slowly succeeding at roasting Su Yan alive. Chapter 31: Twin trouble Part2 Ding. Strength [21 -> 36] Qin Hua did not hesitate and quickly added all of her remaining stat points into her strength and chomped down on the little kid''s frail legs. Her canines gripped his leg and blood dripped down the bite mark, making the kid stumble. The boy immediately shifted his attention from Su Yan to the husky that was barking at him. But Qin Hua had already dived into another shadow, and she once again launched at the kid from behind him, biting into the other leg. The little boy fell down on his knees roaring like a wild animal and casting fireballs madly all around him, aiming at the floor of the long corridor, especially at the patches of dark shadows on it. [Dash] Qin Hua wildly leaped around as fast as she could and dodged the fireballs coming at her, before she again pounced at the little kid, this time directly tearing at his throat. Blood splattered from his carotid artery and as she bit down on him again, the boy finally fell down limp on the ground, his head separated from his body. <6000 Experience points have been rewarded> [Huff! Huff! Huff!] Qin Hua panted, thanking her lucky stars that the boy''s defense was much weaker than his offense. If not¡­ their lives could have truly ended right here and now¡­ But not all the danger had passed just yet. There was still the little girl who seemed to not care about her brother''s death and continued to throw ice spears at Lu Chen. Rings after rings of ice spears popped up around her and flew towards Lu Chen, each one of them sharp and capable of drawing blood. But unlike Su Yan, Lu Chen had somehow managed to dodge all the spears, his body twisting and turning in various poses. This made Qin Hua think about his attributes and if he had gained a lot of agility just like her. She suddenly realized that she could cast her Inspect skill on them as well and not just the zombies and mutated beasts around them. But this was clearly not the time to be doing that. Qin Hua saw Lu Chen miss dodging one of the ice spears, that directly hit him on his leg, slowing down his movements. She quickly leaped to chomp at the little girl''s leg, breaking her momentum as well. Just like the other kid, her defense was also pathetic. Qin Hua only took 1 hit before finishing her off completely, with Lu Chen as well sending out two ice spears that stabbed the girl right in her heart, the pool of thick blood on the floor further increasing in size. <5000 Experience points have been rewarded> Ptui! Qin Hua spat out the flesh in her mouth and ignored the notifications which popped up. She quickly rushed to Su Yan''s side to see how he was doing. He looked to be in a lot of pain, only barely conscious. Even his face and neck had suffered a lot of burns, along with several parts of his body. He was clearly at his limit and was seriously injured. "No. No. No." A few feet away, Lu Chen sobbed, as he dragged his wounded body towards Su Yan as well. [Damn it! Damn it! What should I do now?] Tears leaked out of Qin Hua''s eyes without her realizing it. Her eyes darted here and there, before finally settling down on the torn apart corpse and quickly dragged the little boy''s head near Su Yan. [Wait. Wait. These cores helped me fill my stamina. They should also help him heal?] At the bottom of the severed head, only lightly lodged in was a shining white orb, and this was bigger than all the others they had dug out until now. The orb in fact also had a weird violet sheen to it, giving an ominous vibe. [Inspect] Qin Hua muttered, not wanting to make things worse than they already were. [Demonic? System, can I still absorb this?] She impatiently asked. [Huh? No, I am asking if it is safe or not?] However, Qin Hua did not receive any other answers and she had no other option but to try whatever was in her hand. Su Yan''s breathing was becoming more and more unsteady and she knew that she had to do something soon. She quickly grabbed the severed head in her mouth as she didn''t want to accidentally absorb the core herself and tilted it in an angle such that the white orb touched his injuries. Shua! The demonic mana core immediately disappeared, its essence like always absorbed by the person who touched it. And almost immediately, Qin Hua noticed the injuries on Su Yan''s body slowly becoming better and better. [Huff!] She was finally able to breathe. As she turned around to haul the other head as well close to Su Yan in case this one wasn''t sufficient to heal his injuries completely, a loud voice sounded behind her. The next second, a heavy kick landed on her, sending her body crashing to the wall. Chapter 32: I am your God Part1 "Who allowed you guys to hunt in our territory?" Two men walked over and stood next to Su Yan and Lu Chen, one of whom kicked Qin Hua, sending her body crashing into the wall with a single kick. She yelped in pain, completely caught off guard by the sudden attack, but thankfully, she had already developed the instincts to hide as if it was her second nature. She instantly blended into the darkness before the two men could react. "What the hell? Where did that damn mutt go?" The taller one grimaced, scratching his head. Qin Hua was about to run away as fast as she could, but she stopped after hearing the man''s loud comment. It was clear that his perceptivity was not too good and he didn''t sense her presence. Though it was risky, she decided to stay back and figure out just what the hell was happening since both Su Yan and Lu Chen were still injured and needed her help. "What? What did you just do? Little white?" Lu Chen panicked, looking around here and there, searching for the dog. Things were happening too fast for him to process, especially when he hadn''t yet recovered from the fight with the two strong zombies. "Damn it. You stupid fuck. Stop searching for your dog and answer me first. Did you both kill the two zombies on this floor?" Lu Chen turned to look at him blankly, having no words to answer that question. What was he supposed to say? His pet dog killed both the zombies single-handedly? Would these guys even believe him? "What is going on? Who are you both?" He asked, diverting from the topic. At the same time, his mind was busily trying to come up with a solution. He had let down Su Yan far too many times and the fact that his friend was still alive was a miracle. This was his chance to make up for everything. Lu Chen did not know what the two men wanted but from the looks of it, they were up to no good. "This guy! Look at his attitude! Don''t you know how to talk to your God?" God? Lu Chen stared at him, blinking, wondering what the hell he was talking about. "Ptui. I should just bash your skull right here and now. You heard me right, you little bitch. I am your God." The man raised his leg, intending to kick aside Lu Chen, the same way he had kicked Qin Hua, but the guy standing next to him stopped him. "Take it easy, Bai. We better bring these both back to the boss before we do anything. They seemed to be awakened as well." Hiding in the shadows, Qin Hua breathed a sigh of relief seeing that at least one of the two meatheads had some brain in their thick heads. Bai grunted and sighed in displeasure, but eventually agreed to his companion''s words. "Get the hell up and follow us." Lu Chen clenched his fist. He did not want to do what they were pressuring him to do, but it looked like he didn''t have any other option. The two men looked too strong for him to handle by himself, especially when Su Yan''s state was not too great. He couldn''t take the chances that they wouldn''t kill the both of them right here and now if he didn''t follow their orders. "Can you guys give us some time to recover? I am hurt and my friend here is also hurt." He explained, trying his luck. "Eh? Why are you telling me that? It''s not like you are dead, right? If it hurts that bad tell me, then I can just simply kill you off and make everything a lot easier." "Stand up. Now." The man kicked him with his feet, nudging him to stand up. Lu Chen grit his teeth and with no other option, he tried to stand up which only made his wound worse, more blood spluttering out. He winced in pain and flopped back down, after which he tore the shirt he was wearing and bandaged it on his wound tightly. He then stood up again, only barely supporting himself. But nevertheless, he tried to lift Su Yan up, who was still covered by burn injuries, albeit a lot better than before. He was not fully conscious, so Lu Chen leaned his body against his shoulders and dragged Su Yan along with him as he walked. "See! There you go! Not that difficult now, was it?" The man called Bai chuckled, enjoying Lu Chen''s plight. The other one, however, wordlessly walked in the front. Qin Hua dug her nails into the ground, only barely able to hold on. She couldn''t bear seeing the two people who were closest to her being treated this way and trampled on. Perhaps because she was a dog and dogs were loyal in nature, every part of her body screamed and commanded her to leap forward and tear apart the two big guys. She watched them with reddened eyes as the two big muscular men walked over and stopped in front of the elevator, which from the looks of it, they had repaired and was working once again. The cable whirred and the elevator stopped in front of them. They were about to get on, with Lu Chen and Su Yan limping behind when the silent one suddenly asked. "What about the mana cores from the two zombies?" Chapter 33: I am your God Part2 Qin Hua snapped into action as soon as she heard the man mention mana core. That was their only hope now. Everything in her brain suddenly clicked and she knew what she had to do. She opened her status screen and madly flipped through the notifications. She swiped away all the level up notifications without giving them a second look. She only stopped to look at the skill points and stat points gained. She had leveled up four times and she had received 8 skill points, 2 for crossing each level. Combined with the 3 skill points she already had, she now had enough to purchase the [Space vault] skill. Qin Hua did not hesitate and quickly purchased the skill. She then leaped into the shadows and before any of the other human beings could make a move, she silently slipped into the shadow closest to the little girl''s head and chucked her head into her space vault, along with the core in it. She then once again slipped into the shadows quietly. Now she was more than sure that the two men could not perceive her presence. It looked like they had only enhanced their physical attributes giving them the strength they required. As she hid into one of the shadows near the elevator, she heard the man''s gruff voice clearly. "You two. Get into the elevator." Bai shouted, pushing Lu Chen in. Since he was only barely standing up, he stumbled from the push, both Su Yan and him falling down face first. "Heh. Now make sure to hold the elevator and wait for us." Lu Chen did not move which made the big guy angry. He raised his leg up and stamped Lu Chen''s toes on the leg that was not injured until cracking sounds were heard. Arghh! Lu Chen shouted in pain twisting and turning. The man was using his full strength to torture him and he did it for no reason. Bai chuckled and leaned forward to pull his injured leg and placed it in the front of the elevator. The doors which were about to close now jammed on his injured leg and went back, his leg acting like a wedge that prevented the elevator doors from closing. Every time the doors hit the leg, the bandage on his wound dripped, more blood coming out. Lu Chen winced in pain and agony, even though he tried his best to not show weakness in front of these guys. The two of them looked down, sneering at him, and then walked away to see if the zombies still had the mana cores within them. "Do you think its already gone, Ling? Boss will be upset!" Bai muttered as he kicked one of the corpses. The two of them then started to busily dig through the two dead bodies searching for the mana cores. Meanwhile, Qin Hua slipped into the elevator, behind Lu Chen, only sticking her head out from the shadows. She quietly took out the severed little girl''s head from her inventory and touched Lu Chen with the side that the mana orb was protruding. Lu Chen was in too much of a daze to notice anything. He hadn''t even sensed Qin Hua''s presence. He only noticed something different as he felt a surge of energy sweeping past his body. The energy wave this time was much stronger than anything he had experienced before. Ba-Thump! Ba-Thump! Ba- Thump! His heart pounded loudly and his body pulsed with a vague strength. The next second an intense pain shot through his spine, spreading across his body. Ahhh! Lu Chen yelled, crying out in pain, which made the two men rummaging outside smile with satisfaction. They, however, did not realize what was actually happening in the elevator. Lu Chen''s entire body was now covered with a thin layer of ice as if he was enclosed in a cocoon and slowly this ice cocoon broke, shattering into a million pieces and melting into water, that drenched him completely. This water was in fact freezing cold, but Lu Chen did not feel the chill. It felt rather comfortable for him. The tired and agonized look on his face as well disappeared, his eyes now sharp, cold and cruel. As the elevator door continued jamming on his leg which was no longer injured, but still protruded in the front, Lu Chen silently closed his eyes and looked down, hiding everything that had happened. Qin Hua who watched the whole thing from near him finally sighed in relief. Both Lu Chen and Su Yan were no longer critically injured. Of course, not to mention, her own strength¡­ She as well grinned and silently laid in wait inside the elevator. "Hey where is this one''s head?" "Hmm?" The two men squatted on the corridor searched for a while but they couldn''t find anything. "Damn it! These useless bitches probably consumed them already. What a waste!" "Hmmm¡­ I think you are right." Ling nodded, agreeing with Bai. The two of them then turned around to walk back to the elevator. Bai kicked Lu Chen''s leg aside as he angrily stormed in. "Useless! You should have just stayed quietly in your apartment. This God would have rescued you, but you had to steal my treasures, didn''t you?" "Little bitch! Wait till the boss gives me the green light. I will show you what will happen if you take what is mine." Lu Chen did not respond to any of his taunts and silently stared at the elevator floor, while Ling pushed the button for the ground floor. Chapter 34: Double Awakening Part1 Ding. The elevator chimed in, ringing loudly in the empty corridor, but it was not on the ground floor like the burly man had intended it to be. It had instead stopped on the 9th floor. And when the doors opened, it was also not the two muscular men who stepped outside. It was rather Lu Chen who walked out, his shirt still dripping wet and his right hand dragging one of the two bodies lying inside the elevator with an icicle stuck in the throat. The man named Bai who was alive and acting high and mighty just a couple of seconds ago, was now completely dead and lifeless, impaled by the single icicle. Behind him, Qin Hua dragged the other body, also with an icicle crushing the throat. She used her canines to drag it quite roughly, blood spurting out everywhere creating a gory mess. After throwing the two bodies out on the empty corridor, Lu Chen then leaned forward to carefully lift Su Yan who was still unconscious even though he was mostly healed. The elevator doors then closed behind them, whirring once again, and headed towards the ground floor, now completely empty except for the bloodstains all over the floor. Qin Hua looked at Lu Chen as she wagged her tail and followed him. She had originally planned on helping him take care of both the ruffians but to her surprise, she didn''t even have to lift her paw. In just a fraction of a second, Lu Chen moved and finished both the men at the same time, simultaneously materializing two icicles from both his palms. Since the little girl zombie was also using ice attacks, she had expected Lu Chen to get some good benefits from absorbing the demonic mana core, but she never expected the results to be so drastic. [Woof! If only there was one more!!] Qin Hua pouted as she shook her butt along with her tail and followed the guy. [Aya. I guess it''s alright. I could have never taken down those two kids without their help and I did get experience points. A whole lot of them.] She licked her lips and grinned cheerfully at the thought of all the level up notifications that had sounded. She was just about to look at everything she had gained in detail when Lu Chen suddenly paused in front of an apartment and stared at the floor. There was a backpack and a knife lying on the ground and it was unmistakably something that Xu Meilin had with her when they had separated into two groups. Not just that, but none of the others were also to be found. This was the apartment where the others were supposed to be waiting for them, but now they were missing and it was not too hard to guess exactly where they might be. "Hmmm¡­ So those guys got to them first before they reached us, huh?" Lu Chen grimly mumbled. He then kicked open the apartment door fully and settled Su Yan inside on a couch. Looking at his friend who was still unconscious Lu Chen sighed and then turned towards Qin Hua to squat down and ruffle her head. [Eh! So annoying! Get away! Shoo, human!] The dog growled in a low voice and pushed his hand away, making Lu Chen chuckle lightly at her predictable behavior. Qin Hua could see that his playful and carefree nature had completely disappeared. The young man standing in front of her was far more serious and sharp, like the edge of a cold steel blade. Even when he was laughing at her, there was a kind of freezing chill seeping out of his body. She reluctantly licked his hand, letting him have that small victory. "He He. What a good little girl you are! I would have already been dead and if not¡­ worse¡­ without you. Thanks for helping me, sweet girl." "Can you even understand me?" Lu Chen asked, staring at the huge dog in front of him, which was almost three-fourths of his height. Though he had asked her such a question, he already knew the answer to it. He could tell that the dog in front of him was much more intelligent than a normal house pet. In fact, she was now pitch black in color and looked more like a wolf than a dog with her canines far more pronounced. Anyone else would have been scared at the mere sight of her, especially now, since the world was swarming with all sorts of creatures, but Lu Chen was not in the least apprehensive about her. He could clearly remember her being only a small little puppy just a few days ago and chuckled at the surreal beast in front of him, before pulling her closer and hugging her tightly. [Ah, damn it! Here we go again.] Qin Hua sighed and gave him a couple of licks. Woof! Woof! Seeing her squirming and wiggling out of his grasp, Lu Chen smiled again and let her go. "Listen to me carefully, little white. We don''t have much time. I need to go down and see what is happening on the ground floor." "Can you stand guard here and look after Su Yan until he wakes up?" He asked her seriously. Chapter 35: Double Awakening Part2 [What? Go down alone?] Qin Hua was surprised. She was not sure if Lu Chen risking his life by going down alone was the right decision at the moment. However, she knew that if they all waited around doing nothing until Su Yan woke up, that was also probably not a good thing. Every second counted and the enemy might become more powerful in the time that they waste by waiting around. Without any other option, she reluctantly shook her big furry head up and down, signaling in a human way that she would try her best. Lu Chen was slightly startled at her reaction, but he then smiled and rubbed her head, before looking at Su Yan one more time and stepping out of the apartment. Qin Hua''s eyes trailed behind him and after he left, trailed back to look at Su Yan, wondering what happened to him. She lifted her paw and using the furry side she poked around Su Yan''s body here and there to see if there is any reaction. [Aish. Why am I wasting time like this!!! Let me use Inspect.] Qin Hua''s sharp and ferocious eyes instantly bulged like boiled eggs after seeing the few words which popped out. [Level 20? Double Awakened? What the hell?] Her tongue rolled out, unable to hold in her surprise. Su Yan was twice as powerful as her?!!! [System, this double awakening? This is because of the demonic mana core? Does this mean he is going to have another ability?] The system spat out the same reply as it had done before, but Qin Hua could already connect the dots in her brain. Awakening probably referred to abilities and Su Yan''s current state might be because his body was getting accustomed to the new ability he possibly gained. Lu Chen as well had eaten a demonic core but he didn''t show any signs like Su Yan. Perhaps he hadn''t gained an ability from the core? Qin Hua shook her head as everything fell into place and she was slowly understanding this world better and better. [Waaah! This is cheating!! Why wasn''t there one more demonic core for me?!] She sat on the ground covering her head with her two front paws as if the sky had fallen down. [Sigh. Alright. At least he is okay. Let me check what happened to me now¡­] Qin Hua pouted cutely, resting her big furry head on the couch next to Su Yan, and opened all the notifications that she hadn''t paid attention to earlier. Level 6> Level 7> Level 8> Level 9> The pout on the little dog''s face slowly became a smile after looking at the several notifications one by one, her eyes especially glued onto the last one. Woof! Woof!! Qin Hua almost drooled reading the definition of the skill. She had also gained some additional stat points and her health and other attributes had increased, but this was the upgrade she was most excited about it. [Shadow cloning!] She quickly activated the skill to check it out first. She waited and watched for something awesome to happen, but surprisingly nothing happened. [Eh? Why is the skill not working?] As her green and blue eyes darted here and there, she couldn''t help but notice that there was no shadow or darkness nearby. The pitch black husky quickly jumped on its feet and wobbled over to a patch of darkness near the window and stood in the darkness itself before activating the skill once again. Shadow cloning! Almost immediately, black wisps started materializing out of the darkness and another huge figure started coalescing right next to her. [He He He! I knew it! Awesome] Qin Hua licked her lips in excitement. Standing near her was another husky, big and pitch black just like her, except for the eyes. The clone had a pair of dark purple eyes which made it look fearsome. She beamed in delight and extended her paw to touch the clone to see what it was. Woof! Woof!! Just as she had expected, her paw went right through the clone as if the thing in front of her was just air. Except for a cold chilly sensation, she didn''t feel anything else. [Fuuuu¡­ Alright. Not bad for a start. Let''s try switching places now.] And bingo! The very next second their positions had completely switched!! [I love this skill!] Qin Hua''s eyes sparkled and she immediately got an idea. Chapter 36: I mean no harm Part1 Lu Chen did not take the elevator and took the stairs reaching all the way down to the third floor without facing any surprises. However, he was unable to proceed beyond that point. The stairwell pathway had been completely blocked with sturdy steel doors welded together into some sort of a barricade. It was like someone had plugged the various holes or pathways of entries using metal as if it was a sponge filling. "Hmm¡­ This definitely looks like someone has the ability to shape and mold metals." Lu Chen paused, pondering over his alternative route of action. The stairwell was blocked and he was pretty sure that the elevator entrance was guarded by more men similar to those he had faced or in the worst case scenario someone even more powerful. He would only be a sitting duck if he still used the elevator, so that wasn''t an option. There was only one other option left. Lu Chen clenched and released his fists a couple of times before entering the third floor and locating the fire exit. He quickly jumped down the ladder, reaching the ground in less than a minute. However, the big herd of rats which they had seen before was no longer there. In reality, Lu Chen wasn''t too worried about these rats. He was far more concerned about the other monsters that could be lurking outside, particularly the green-skinned creatures that could only be called goblins. He silently looked around and walked around the apartment complex, extremely careful and cautious, ducking down close to the wall so that he won''t be visible from the windows. After covering about half the distance, he paused to see a corpse lying in front of him with its insides completely torn and lying in shambles, but the flesh was completely untouched. Lu Chen sighed as he could tell that this was probably the handiwork of a fellow human being rather than the new beasts and monsters that roamed around. "What the fuck?" He lowered his head and muttered under his breath. He was still not able to believe that he was actually doing this, trying to hide from his fellow human beings. What a joke! They hadn''t even figured this new world out and the seemingly unrealistic things which have suddenly become very real, but humans had already started fighting with each other. A cold glint flashed past his eyes he continued squatting and moving. A normal human being would have already gotten tired out from moving in such a weird state, but his muscles and his abilities were far more enhanced now, so he continued without needing to rest. Lu Chen had now almost come full circle as he scouted the apartment complex. As far as he could see, all the windows and even the patio had been completely barricaded along with both the front and the back entrance. The entire apartment complex or at least the bottom two floors had been completely secured! The speed and the efficiency with which all of these seem to have been accomplished told him that there was probably a huge group of people inside, at least a dozen or so. Moreover, he also had no idea if he was currently being watched or not. Even though he had been very careful, it was almost impossible for him to completely camouflage himself in the midst of the cemented parking lot and greenery less, bald surroundings. Where was he even supposed to hide? "Alright. Let me check out the basement parking lot." Lu Chen began to move even though he had a feeling that they might have secured the parking lot as well. However, before he could take another step, a loud buzzing noise sounded behind him and he quickly swung around to see a dozen yellow colored balls flying towards him, but how can balls buzz? "Fuck. These are not balls! These are fucking bees! How are they so big???" Lu Chen knew that he didn''t have much time. He had the advantage when it came to long-distance fighting and so he wanted to settle this as soon as possible. But would he be able to? That was an entirely different question. Lu Chen had no idea about the strength and physical defense of these fattened-up bees who were somehow surprisingly very fast for their size. Their front two stingers especially looked terrifying and their venom had probably mutated as well. All in all Lu Chen knew that his speed was the most crucial matter in this battle. He was alone and there were about a dozen bees coming straight at him, all of them aiming for him. He did not hesitate and he stood up to instantly start shooting several ice spears. Some of them hit the target while some of them did not. However, the very next second another batch of ice spears popped up next to him and flew towards the 7 bees that hadn''t been hit the first time around. These were now much closer to him and Lu Chen was easily able to aim for them and damage them with his sharp, pointed ice spears. After battling with the little girl zombie, his control and his attacks were much smoother now. He had most definitely lost that battle but in return, he had learned a lot. In less than a minute, all twelve of the bees had fallen to the ground, some of them dead, some still alive, and some partly frozen. Lu Chen walked over and materialized another ice spear, a bigger one this time, and thrust into the bees that were still alive and struggling, completely killing them off in one hit. "So not a strong defense huh? Then you guys must have been relying on the numbers to get by!" Lu Chen exclaimed, killing another bee. It looked like even the bees knew how to cooperate better than the human beings. He searched all of their bodies for mana cores and managed to successfully retrieve cores from 5 out of the 12 bees. As each core disappeared into his body, turning into a wisp of energy, Lu Chen felt his tiredness evaporate and his body brimming with power. He now understood why those two men who had attacked them had been very arrogant. They had probably managed to clear a bunch of these beasts and had wrongly assumed that they were overpowered. However, he knew that different cores were different and these cores actually were a lot less useful even though their consumption stroked the energy swirling in his body. Sighing, Lu Chen turned around when suddenly, the air around him twisted and a man appeared out of thin air, right behind him and placed a knife near his throat, making him completely unable to move or respond. Chapter 37: I mean no harm Part2 Lu Chen did not know how his attacker looked but just judging from the hand that grabbed him and the grip on his body, he could tell that the person was strong and muscular. "Make one wrong move and you will be dead before you can blink." "Alright. Alright. Can we calm down please?" Lu Chen immediately relaxed his body and softened his tone. "I am not here to make any trouble." "I live in one of the apartments above and was caught outside when everything turned to shit. I am just trying to get back to my house and wait quietly until a rescue team arrives man." "Come on. No need to be so rough. I mean no harm, please. I am not a criminal." Seeing Lu Chen let his guard down, the other guy as well relaxed slightly. "Hmm. Alright. I will take you inside now. You can present your case to the leader." "Leader? Ah?" Lu Chen blinked innocently and nodded with a silly smile on his face. "Ok. Thanks a lot!" The two of them then turned around and started walking inside as a small but sharp and pointed ice spear just an inch away behind the assassin''s neck silently dissolved and disappeared, completely unnoticed. Lu Chen silently watched while the man knocked on one of the metallic exteriors which seemed welded shut. However, as soon as he knocked, the metal slab split apart in the middle making an artificial door. Oh, that''s how they have been entering and exiting¡­ Lu Chen silently muttered to himself. Though it was risky, he decided to follow along with this approach for now as he believed that even these people couldn''t be stupid enough to blindly antagonize anyone and everyone who walked through the door. But¡­ "Who do we have here?" As soon as the two entered inside, a couple of armed men interrupted them. Where did these guys get the guns from? Lu Chen looked at the assassin who was holding him, who answered on his behalf. "Just another wanderer." "Oh? Is that so? Alright take him in and group him with the newest batch. The leader should be back soon and then they will be processed." The assassin nodded his head and then directed Lu Chen to the waiting area on the ground floor which was typically used by the visitors to the apartment complex. He then sat there along with three other men and two women who all seemed to be quite young and healthy. The assassin then left the room and Lu Chen watched him step out again. He must be their scout with probably an invisibility skill. He had a mental note to himself. The entire group was extremely organized. They had properly barricaded the building. They had a system in place and from the looks of it, they should also have proper accommodations as they were literally in an apartment complex. Everything was perfectly planned and considering the speed and efficiency they had accomplished these things with, Lu Chen knew that he would only be a fool to underestimate this so-called leader. "Have you guys been waiting here long?" He asked the two men sitting near him who were approximately in their 20s. They looked a little spooked and didn''t respond properly to his question. The other man who seemed a bit older, perhaps in his 30s was more vocal and he answered Lu Chen instead. "We were stranded at the supermarket nearby and these guys rescued us." "So do you have any abilities?" He rubbed his hands excitedly and asked another question in return. Lu Chen slightly frowned. "Why? Do we need abilities to be accepted here?" "Aha Ha Ha¡­ Don''t be a naive kid. Of course, that''s how things work? You either need to be someone with abilities or you need to be someone with boobs." The man obscenely demonstrated by cupping his hands in front of his chest. Lu Chen''s face changed but he quickly returned back to his normal silly self. "Aha ha ha." He chuckled at the joke that was not very funny. He could now clearly see that among the five people, except for the slightly taller man who he had just spoken to, the others were trembling and sweating, especially the two women. He could roughly guess the way that things were about to unfold. He didn''t make any conversation after that and silently waited for the so-called ''Leader'' to arrive. Chapter 38: Eating to level up Part1 Leaving behind her shadow clone to guard Su Yan, Qin Hua quietly slipped into the darkness and jumped down several floors to quickly reach the ground floor. Unlike Lu Chen, she didn''t have to squat around the perimeter and enter the base covertly, she directly used the elevator shaft and the darkness within it to reach the ground floor in just a few seconds. But once she reached the base, the real problem began as Qin Hua had never expected to find such a ridiculous scenario. Strolling in front of her with stacked muscles and armed guns were four big and thick men. Not just that, but the entirety of the first three floors including the ground floor, first floor, and second floor had been secured and sealed perfectly, more men roaming around, patrolling with guns. More importantly, each and every one of them was distinctly physically enhanced!!! This told Qin Hua two things. Either someone had the ability to physically enhance human beings or they had been hunting zombies and other monsters non-stop. Either way, the opponents in front of her were not someone she could beat easily at her current level, at least not all of them together at the same time, but if she could somehow isolate them¡­ [Inspect] She muttered inwardly, trying to pull out information about the enemy. [Hmm¡­ So even if I get them alone, it might still be a bit of a struggle. Alright, let me scout a bit first.] Qin Hua ran around using her Inspect skill on everyone. The good news was that there were about 20 guards in total combined on all three floors. The bad news was that almost all of them were at a higher level than her and about half of them had awakened unique abilities, though she was unable to find out what specific abilities each one had. On top of this, her small hope of this group being a sensible and rational one was also smashed into smithereens. Though the two muscle heads they had come across were rude and brash and lacking any kindness, Qin Hua had hoped that the rest of them might be different, possibly even friendly. But the more she looked at their base set-up, it was clear that she and they were never going to get along. This was because apart from the patrolling and resting men, Qin Hua had also come across some women in the three floors, about 6 women in total. However, every single one of them looked lifeless and battered and they were cooking and processing some sort of meat in the kitchen in a dull monotone. The vigor and strength that shone in the faces of the men patrolling outside were completely absent in these women and they looked like they had undergone something horrible and soul-crushing. In fact, they looked like mindless hopeless slaves! Qin Hua shuddered to think what might have happened to them, but it was in the past and even she was helpless to undo something that was already done. Up until now she didn''t really care about the survival of others and simply concerned herself with her own survival and her new family''s survival, but even she couldn''t ignore something like this. Most importantly, she shuddered at the thought of the future. In just a single day, things had devolved to such an extent??? Just who the hell was behind this coordination domination?? How could they achieve something so fast? [Scum like this should be killed.] Qin Hua silently growled. These were the type of people that she hated the most. People who took advantage and exploited others who were weak and helpless. It was one thing to not help them but it was an entirely different thing to exploit them. [Wait, but where are Alex and Xu Meilin?] She couldn''t find them here and wondered if they had been taken somewhere else. The big black husky''s eyes turned cold and sinister as she thought about the fate which awaited the two women who had accompanied her all this time. They might be leeches but they didn''t deserve this fate. [So cruel. So cruel. That''s it. I am going to destroy these bastards from top to bottom. I am going to rip them apart piece by piece.] Qin Hua snapped her mouth and then ran around ducking and hiding in the shadows for a few more minutes completely surveilling the entire place in order to avoid any unnecessary surprises. She checked all the nooks and corners and the total number of meatheads was still a big fat 20. However, the second time, she crossed the women in the communal kitchen, she noticed something different. The meat the women were cooking didn''t look like the regular chicken meat. She then noticed the familiar fur in the trash can and the hair on her back instantly spiked up. [Rat meat? They are eating the mutated rat meat???] Qin Hua''s eyes went wide as she saw the mutated rat meat being cooked and grilled and being served in platters as if they were prepared for lunch. The aroma which wafted from the meat was also making her mouth exceedingly water. [Could mutated beast meat be actually eaten???] The big black husky looked around in a daze as she realized that she had overlooked the most obvious way to become stronger!!! Chapter 39: Eating to level up Part2 Huff! Huff! Huff! Qin Hua panted, catching her breath as she eyed the rat meat in front of her. In the short time, she had been downstairs, she had already learned so much! But how did these people discover all these details and even the information about mana cores and mana zombies? Something told her that the group had a leader of sorts and that person might be a formidable one based on everything that was happening around her and how he had brought everyone under his control. She paused her movements and did a quick check-in with the shadow clone, perceiving everything through the clone''s body, but there wasn''t any change at that end. Su Yan was still in his deep slumber, his breathing slow and steady. [Growl! It looks like I have to deal with this myself somehow. Where is Lu Chen?] Qin Hua looked around but the aroma of the meat was too tempting! [Ummm? Let me eat first?] She licked her lips in frustration, being very careful not to accidentally drop her drool somewhere. She first wanted to confirm if the meat was indeed edible. [Inspect] Qin Hua''s eyes bulged out and she swallowed hard especially looking at the last part. [Fuck! If I am caught, then I am definitely dead meat. Woof!] [System, can I safely eat this mutated beast meat?] Qin Hua shook her head and then directly leaped into a shadow closer to the tray of the cooked meat. Though the women worked like drones, they were quite inattentive, so she was easily able to swipe a tray down and gobble up a few chunks of the roasted meat, completely unnoticed. When the bunch of women turned around to look, responding to the loud clattering sound of the tray, she was already gone back into the darkness. Qin Hua calmly dug into and chewed on the meat in her mouth. More than anything she was curious if the meat could make her stronger. The fatty piece of roasted meat almost melted in her mouth, filling her with energy with every bite, and surprisingly system notifications started rolling in as she swallowed the mouthful of meat. ¡­ ¡­ Qin Hua''s eyes immediately sparkled as she knew how she was going to reach level 10. She was currently at level 9 and she only needed a few more experience points to reach the next level. Since she was up against people whose powers she wasn''t completely aware of, she decided to strengthen herself first as much as she could. So the big black husky started swiping the meat trays one by one and in the span of a few minutes, completely licked clean the entire thing. In fact, after the first few times, she didn''t even bother hiding any longer as the women showed absolutely no reaction to seeing her. They continued doing their job like mindless robots which were programmed only to do one thing or rather follow one command. ¡­ ¡­ While Qin Hua was quickly gulping down the meat, she suddenly heard a loud rumble, followed by a jumble of voices at a distance. She immediately threw all the remaining roasted steaks and skewers she could grab inside her space vault and dove into the shadows to hurry over to the source of the noise. [Lu Chen! Woof!] She braked her paws as she saw the young man''s familiar figure and silently observed everything that was happening. She quickly understood what he was trying to do and made sure not to expose his ruse. She sneaked into the shadows and silently slipped next to him, once again starting to munch on the roasted meat. She hadn''t thought of any plan yet and wanted to wait until she leveled up and took a look at the new skills gained if any before deciding a course of action. Also¡­ Does Lu Chen know about the leader? Qin Hua was not sure. She knew that she had to somehow alert Lu Chen about the possible mind-controlling capabilities of one of the people around them or perhaps the leader¡­ but she didn''t know how to. No matter which angle she thought things through, a mind-controlling ability, even a weak or a partial one was truly a scary thing! The best-case scenario would be for her to assault whoever had this particular ability before they could realize what was going on. It was of the utmost importance that this needed to be a one-shot kill because she might not get a second chance, but none of her current skills were strong enough to accomplish such a thing. Qin Hua silently growled pondering how to prepare for such an attack. Chapter 40: Eating to level up Part3 Level 10> Qin Hua licked her lips as she gazed at the system notification pop up. [Finally! Woof!] After continuously eating so much meat, she was almost too full for her comfort and her belly was even slightly bulging. She looked like someone who was preparing for a nap and not for a life and death fight. But Qin Hua did not care about that right now as she patiently waited for the subsequent pop ups. [Come on! Come on! Give mama some nice skills!] She licked her lips in anticipation. However¡­ A few seconds silently passed and nothing popped up in front of her. [What the hell? Woof! Such a scam!] She laid her head on the ground, pouting as if she was wronged. Just when she needed it the most, the damned system had let her down! Qin Hua rolled back and forth, lazily on her back, trying to think of an alternative course of action when she suddenly remembered the shop feature. [I leveled up right, maybe more things are available for purchase now?] Her eyes lit up and she quickly flicked open the shop tab to see several options now available to her. [Wa ha ha! I was indeed correct!] Qin Hua''s mood had improved seeing the many options and she hurriedly scanned through the various open slots on the shop page. [Purchased] [Inspect] - Cost: 2 Skill points; Allows the user to obtain information about an object, both animate and inanimate; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Purchased] [Space vault] - Cost: 10 Skill points; A dimensional magic spell that enables the user to store various items; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Dark shackles] - Cost: 2 Skill points; Allows the user to bind the target in place, preventing any and all movements; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Corruption] - Cost: 5 Skill points; Deals damage to mind, body and soul; 10% of magic attack power instant damage and 50% of magic attack power damage dealt over 20 seconds; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Chaos bolt] - Cost: 3 Skill points; Deals 110% of magic attack power damage; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Chaos ball] - Cost: 5 Skill points; Deals 20% of magic attack power damage; Has a chance to ricochet off the enemy and land on a nearby enemy dealing double the previous damage; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Health potion] - Cost: 2 Skill points; Recovers the complete health of the user and removes all effects of toxins in the system. Qin Hua gulped excitedly after seeing so many new and powerful skills dangling in front of her, but when she realized just how many skill points she had left, the smile on her face entirely disappeared. There was cake right in front of her and yet she couldn''t eat it. [Tch. Tch. I am soooo poor! What am I supposed to buy with 3 skill points. Arghhh. This is making me mad.] She felt as if fate was playing a cruel joke with her. She got a godly system but she became a dog. She found some nice people to live with but the world turned into shit. And now she has OP skills but she lacked the skill points to buy them. She almost let out a loud growl in anger, giving up her presence but she controlled herself. [It''s fine. It''s alright. Let''s calm down. I can buy everything one by one. Ahh. But what to buy first? What could help me deal with a powerful mental ability enemy?] Qin Hua could feel her brain overheating as she didn''t even know for sure that there was a mental ability using person. Everything was her assumption and she didn''t know just how much of it was going to end up being true. She was torn between purchasing a skill that she could afford now and level it by using it on the lackeys in whatever little time she had left or deal with the lackeys first and then perhaps level one more time to get additional skill points to purchase a stronger skill. Either way, she didn''t have much time left and she knew that she had to act soon. [Woof! Let''s buy something first!] With her 3 remaining skill points, Qin Hua decided to buy [Dark Shackles], leaving her with only 1 skill point. It was a fairly powerful skill and if she could attack first after binding the enemy, it could give her a lot of advantages. She might even be able to prevent the possible mental attacks from ever hitting her. [Alright. Woof. Time to hunt now! Let me tear down this madhouse one muscle man at a time.] Qin Hua wagged her tail and quickly leaped into the shadows before disappearing from Lu Chen''s side. But as soon as she left, Lu Chen squinted his eyes, looking directly at the spot where she had hidden and just now left. "Why do I suddenly smell roasted meat?" He muttered to himself, completely puzzled. Chapter 41: Cleaning out Trash Part1 "Do you know when they are returning?" "Not sure. Boss took the new guys out to scout the neighboring areas. Maybe check out some grocery stores." Two bulky men walked along the corridor of the second floor of the apartment complex. "Hey. Wait a second. Do you think that it''s unusually quiet here?" One of them stopped and looked around. About 5 to 6 men were supposed to patrol each floor at all times but currently, the entire place seemed to be deserted. "Hmm¡­ do you think someone is slacking?" The same guy asked again, but weirdly, his partner also seemed to be missing and was not responding. "Where did you go now?" The bulky man turned around, only to shriek loudly the next instant. In front of him was his patrolling partner, enveloped by some sort of black mist? He absolutely had no idea what it was, but he was in no hurry to rescue the other party. Rather he was concerned for his own safety and slowly backed away, sweat oozing from his forehead. With everything that was going on, he didn''t want to touch something weird and get infected. He turned around to run away, perhaps call for some help when suddenly he once again shrieked, this time louder and more panic-stricken as if he had seen a ghost. Standing in front of him was the biggest fucking dog he had ever seen in his life!!! Its fur was as dark as the night itself and its eyes were glowing, one blue and one green. The gigantic beast was panting with its mouth wide open. While the bulky man was staring at her in a mixture of shock, fear, and confusion, Qin Hua snapped her mouth at him as she dashed forward and pounced on top of him, completely toppling the muscular figure. She then sunk her canines into his throat without any warning and tore the thick sturdy flesh off, blood gurgling out of his throat. She didn''t stop there and kept mauling the big guy again and again repeatedly. Since their levels were comparable she didn''t want to take any chances. He tried to fight back and punch her with whatever force he could muster, but the light in his eyes faded even before either of his fists could reach her furry body. Qin Hua kicked the dead body aside, licking her lips. She had expected more points but perhaps since their levels were similar the experience gained had also lessened. Not thinking about it too much, she then dashed towards the second figure who was slowly becoming more and more visible, the black mist around the man in the process of clearing up. Her new skill Dark Shackles was effective only for a few seconds. With blood still dripping from her mouth, Qin Hua dashed towards him and directly aimed for the opponent''s throat again. This was the attack tactic that had worked best for her so far, but unfortunately, this time around, the beefy man was quick to respond and moved aside, at least his upper body, to dodge her attack. This didn''t deter Qin Hua too much as she still had the absolute advantage when it came to size. She was almost as tall as the man but considering her total size and width, she was twice as big as him. The impact alone was enough to overpower him and Qin Hua rabidly started biting everything she could reach. She didn''t even care where she was biting. The lackey screamed in pain. His thick muscles and his enhanced body seemed to be useless in front of the big black dog. He only saw teeth everywhere and couldn''t match the beast''s agile movements. Though the fight was a bit messier this time around, it soon ended and Qin Hua promptly heard another system notification. [Woof! Woof! 4 down. 16 more to go.] Qin Hua licked her lips and once again plunged into the shadows nearby to hide her presence. Thankfully, she still had some roasted beast meat left, so she chomped on it to recover her stamina while simultaneously stalking her next prey who was currently smoking a cigarette on the first floor. She knew that she didn''t have too much time left and she wanted to take care of as many of these lackeys as she possibly could before the supposed big boss arrived. It was also only a matter of time before these people sniffed her out so she quickly tackled the next target, this time swiping at the man with her paws. As he tumbled down from the utter shock of being attacked by a dog out of nowhere, she went in for his throat, biting and tearing it off. Just like that, another kill was smoothly executed which made Qin Hua very content. [Woof! It was indeed the right decision to put the remaining stat points into strength.] As she quickly kicked the dead body into a corner and searched for her next target, she heard some commotion coming from the kitchen. Qin Hua leaped back into the shadows and ran towards the kitchen area where she had previously seen the group of women working like robots. Chapter 42: Cleaning out Trash Part2 "What the hell? Where is all the food bitch?" Three muscular men were standing around in the kitchen and all three of them looked pretty riled up. Qin Hua gulped as she looked at the empty food trays scattered on the floor, immediately realizing that she was the reason for their anger. "Answer me now. What the fuck happened to all the food? Do you think it is easy to get this meat? Bitch, how are you going to pay for this?" One of the men wrapped his hand around a woman''s throat and clutched it tightly, the force enough to raise her body itself off of the ground. "Ahh¡­ Ah¡­" The woman screamed unable to even form proper words to answer him. Her previously lifeless eyes only now looked a bit alive as she was kicking her legs and gasping for air. But it was useless. The man who was holding her was several times stronger than her. She was just a weak little chicken when compared to him. "Useless bitch. You are only good for one thing but you can''t even do that properly?" The lackey groped the woman''s breasts with his other hand as he continued choking her more and more. The look in his eyes showed that he was clearly enjoying this. Unlike the women who were all somehow mentally affected and were unable to even form proper emotions, the men seemed to be mentally sound. Qin Hua growled from within a patch of darkness nearby. [Trash! Total trash!] She gritted her teeth but she didn''t lose her cool and act in impatience. If she acted now, she would be going one against three. Even with her new skill Dark shackles, she was not sure if she would be able to handle three of them at the same time. So Qin Hua patiently watched, waiting for a chance. The lackey continued to squeeze the woman for a couple more seconds and when he finally released her, her body fell onto the ground. "Dude, don''t kill anyone. The boss might get angry." Another one muttered even though there was no sign of pity on his face. "Ya. Ya. I didn''t kill her. She is just unconscious." With his one hand dragging the woman''s body, he started walking to the next apartment on the floor, where he dumped her on the living room carpet. "Heh. I will wait till you wake up and then punish you some more." He muttered to himself and then turned around to return back when suddenly he was face to face with a pitch black beast that glared at him as if it was from hell. Ahhhh! The guy screamed in shock but Qin Hua was already on top of him, chewing the muscular body left and right. Hearing the noise, two other guys from the next apartment, the one that was fashioned into a kitchen, ran over to check what was happening. [Dark Shackles] Qin Hua muttered, immediately arresting one of them in place. Dark mist swirled around the man preventing him from making any sort of movements. The other one seemed equally incapacitated and confused as he looked back and forth between his two fallen comrades. Qin Hua who hadn''t yet finished off the first guy, left him bleeding and struggling on the floor to attack the second guy. She pounced on him as well attacking him rabidly. By the time, the spell wore off and the third lackey was released, the entire living room was a bloody mess. The third lackey saw the destruction around him and quickly used the knife in his hand to slash at Qin Hua. For some reason, he was faster than the other two, putting the dog immediately on high alert. She dodged his attack and dove into a shadow, before once again attacking him from behind and taking him by surprise. Her stealth mode coupled with her jaws of death made the fight pretty much one-sided as she massacred the three men, spilling blood and flesh everywhere. And unlike the others, she even took a few extra seconds to finish these three, killing them in the most grotesque way possible. Nevertheless, she finished the fight fast and dove into the shadows again. [Hmmm¡­ 12 more to go¡­ I am just not fast enough¡­] Qin Hua muttered swiping away the notifications. She shook her head, drizzling small droplets of thick red blood everywhere. She hated that her body was filthy right about now, not to mention the thick stench of death that hovered around her, but she didn''t have the luxury of time. All of their lives rested in her actions right now and there was no room for error. Strengthening her resolve, she once again started moving using the cover of the bits and pieces of darkness that lingered here and there. She didn''t pay attention to the few women any longer because they were clearly long gone. There was a chance that they might recover if she perhaps used the health potion item from the shop, but she couldn''t afford to do that as other people depended on her right now. Besides, the damage their brain suffered might not even be healed with the use of the healing potion. If she risked everything for a chance to save them, then that would only mean the death of her own group. So even though it was cruel, she had no other choice except to leave them be for now. Chapter 43: Cleaning out Trash Part3 After dealing with the three lackeys in the kitchen, it only took Qin Hua a few more minutes to deal with the other two men on the floor. With them taken care of, she had successfully dealt with 14 of the 20 men team. In fact, she was so close to gaining another level. But Qin Hua did not rush anything and attack blindly. As she was now prowling on the ground floor, she could see that all the guards here had higher levels ranging from 12 to 14. There was even one Level 15 muscular lackey. She had a feeling that one or more of these thugs might have awakened abilities. It made sense for the weaker lackeys to guard the upper floors and the stronger ones to guard the base. Not to mention, the one guy who definitely had the ability to bend metals and fortified the whole base. Qin Hua waited and watched when finally one of the guards wandered into the bathrooms at the far end of the corridor. [Got you! Woof!] She ducked under the shadow of the door and entered the bathroom as well but immediately she turned around with an unsightly look on her face. [Aiyooo! My eyes. My eyes. This damned villain took my innocence!!!] Wearing a stiff face, she rolled around in the darkness, bile rising up her chest. Meanwhile, the bulky muscular middle-aged man finished his business and whistled as he washed his hands in the washbasin, taking a few gulps of the water. As he was gurgling the water and swallowing it, suddenly blood spurted from his throat, and a dog had pushed him onto the ground, jumping out of nowhere. Qin Hua did not realize but her attacks were extra vicious as he mauled the guy without giving him a second of relief to even gather his thoughts. He tried to wrestle the dog away but she was glued on top of him, weighing him down like a mountain. [You scoundrel! How dare you soil my eyes! Bad man! Bad uncle! Die. Die. Die.] Qin Hua panted, stepping away from the corpse only after hearing the notification which popped up. She didn''t know if this particular person was awakened or not. The fight was over too fast for the opponent to react. She took a step back and looked at all the bloody mess around her. She considered hiding the body in her inventory space but then she would also have to clean up the blood on the floor, which seemed like a time waste. So she didn''t bother with either of those and quietly walked out, ducking back into the shadows. As she observed the surroundings, trying to pick out her next victim, suddenly loud noises sounded and a group of three men walked forward, the one in the center doing some movements with his hands. Immediately the big slab of metal split apart into two and a group of people walked in. There was a total of 5 beefy men, along with a couple of familiar faces. "So that''s how it is¡­ See. What did I tell you? It is better to stick around with us." A tall and lean middle-aged man walked inside, smoking a piece of cigarette. He had his one arm around Xu Meilin who was clearly not comfortable with him touching her casually. Alex, the fat leech of the group, and another small kid whom Qin Hua did not recognize also closely walked behind him. [Was this the leader of this group?] Qin Hua pondered. No matter how she looked at it, the man didn''t seem capable at all. He acted very flashy and seemed to be only focused on inappropriately touching Xu Meilin. So Qin Hua had difficulty in believing that someone like him was capable of accomplishing something like this. Her eyes then casually flitted over to the small kid as a thought popped up in her mind. [No. Not possible.] Qin Hua shook her head. The kid only seemed like a middle schooler. How could he be capable of doing such heinous things? But weirdly enough, except for the two of them, everyone else was buffed and stacked similar to the muscular lackeys guarding the apartment complex. Hmmm¡­ Qin Hua licked her lips and quietly moved through the darkness, positioning herself closer to the group and ready to jump in and attack at any instant. Meanwhile, the group walked in, settling in the lounge area. The tall guy sat down, while everybody else was standing. The little kid as well sat down but he sat down on the floor. "So what do you all think?" The leader chuckled, taking another puff of his cigarette. Before he could say anything else, one of the lackeys stepped forward and announced. "Boss Benan, we got a few more applicants." Chapter 44: The leader is here "Oh is that so? Good. Good. Bring them also over here." Benan chuckled. "The more the merrier. We are building a fucking kingdom here after all." He flicked his wrist and took another puff as he watched Lu Chen and the others walk over to him, his eyes specifically lingering on the women. "Hello. Hello. How are you guys doing? It''s been a crazy couple of days, right? I can see it on your face that you guys are all quite scared." He dusted the cigarette and popped it back into his mouth, inhaling another big drag. "You don''t need to worry though." "I mean¡­ See¡­ I am not trying to fool anyone here. You know very well that the apocalypse just started, but take a look at the setup we have going on." "All this in just 2 days." Benan raised his fingers and gestured the number for dramatic effect. Lu Chen nodded with a smile. There was a dazed expression on his face as if he was listening to something awesome but inwardly he tried to gauge the strength of everyone in the room. He knew that there were also other guards beside the ones who were standing in this room. The situation could get very troublesome if he didn''t deal with it properly. While Lu Chen looked around, his eyes landed on the familiar figures standing on the other side of the room, Xu Meilin, Alex, and lastly¡­ Nan Zhong. The two women looked at him but their gazes didn''t linger long. They saw Lu Chen nod slightly and quickly looked away, but the third party continued looking at him. Almost immediately, a sense of unease arose in his heart. Qin Hua also realized this big issue at the same time Lu Chen did. [Ah! That fat guy! I forgot about that fat guy!] She suddenly remembered the worst leech of the group. The others might act as if they had never met Lu Chen but would he also do the same? She knew that it was only seconds before everything turned to shit and Lu Chen was exposed. She knew that Lu Chen was quite capable of handling himself but the thing that worried her the most was the guns some of the goons were carrying. Not to mention the mental ability user. [Damn it. I need to attack that leader now. If I can take down that guy with the mental ability, the rest will be much easier.] She ground her teeth. She glared at Nan Zhong who now had a big smile on his face. She had to admit it. Though the man was lazy, he was very shrewd. He looked like he had also realized what was happening even though he might not have the whole story. Qin Hua licked her canines as if she was preparing them for battle, watching his actions closely, but the man remained silent, continuing to patiently listen as well. [Fucking fat time bomb. Grrrr.] She sneered. Meanwhile, the boss of the group, Benan continued to spout a lot of narcissistic random nonsense which everyone patiently listened to, fear and nervousness etched on their faces. Qin Hua almost lost her cool listening to him babble on and on especially when she knew that all of it was false. Everything that came out of his mouth was a lie. So why was he putting so much effort? She racked her brain but couldn''t think of any possible reason. Was he just simply fond of wasting time and tooting his horn? Maybe the slave thing that was going on required some sort of willing submission? As she was deeply engrossed in this matter, suddenly a chill ran down her spine and she felt as if someone was directly looking at her. She turned around here and there but didn''t see anyone. The next instant, the air around the boss man twisted, and a lean young man popped out of thin air. [What the hell?] Qin Hua''s eyes bulged in surprise. Another person also had stealth ability just like her and moreover, he did not look muscular like the other guys. Was this guy not under mind control? While she was quietly thinking about this, the young man''s eyes coincidentally darted towards her, and he was looking straight into her eyes, meeting her gaze. Qin Hua panicked. If her position right now was found out, the situation would have become extremely messy. Another fucking time bomb! She didn''t quite have the confidence to be able to win against so many people even though Lu Chen was with her. It could become a messy brawl. There could be casualties and she didn''t want to risk anyone''s life, especially hers or Lu Chen''s. But it didn''t look like she had any other choice left. Nan Zhong might not have snarked on them, but why should this random stranger help her out? That too¡­ She was a beast for god''s sake! In this bizarre apocalypse, why would anyone trust a beast! Qin Hua bared her teeth, all prepared to fight, but to her surprise, the guy didn''t react at all. He simply nodded and once again returned to the conversation he was having with the so-called leader. "Boss the outside is clear and everything is in order." He gave his report as if nothing was out of place. "Alright. Good job, Guan Ye." Benan patted him. Unlike how he addressed the others, there was a hint of respect and fear, when the scummy leader addressed him and Qin Hua observed this. [Ah¡­ He didn''t tell on me?] Her tongue rolled down, which she quickly pulled back up. [So this guy was some sort of secret patrol and he didn''t tell on me¡­] She couldn''t help but come to the conclusion that this person might not be bad and perhaps even wanted to help them.¡­.??? Chapter 45: Bang Bang Boom Part1 Qin Hua curiously looked at the young man who possessed a stealth ability, not unlike herself. It would be a really good thing if he indeed wanted to help them. That would mean that they could actually take care of this damned situation and clean the house easily. Thanks to the dastardly deeds of her own family, she had a lot of trust issues but right at this second, it seemed like a good option to trust the guy. At least they won''t lose out in any way by doing so. She carefully watched the lean young man who seemed to be in his twenties. He continued filling the leader with all of the details. And after he was done, he bowed to the leader, and then as she watched, the man paused and bowed to the little kid as well. [What?!] Qin Hua instantly connected the dots. This small action might not have been noticed by others but she was quick to react as she had the nagging doubt all along. The kid was the one with the powerful ability! She was sure of it. How could a small kid do such horrible things? Was he forced? While she was thinking about this, the assassin once again entered stealth mode and disappeared and another lackey stepped forward and one by one started reporting things to the boss. After filling him in on the border patrol details, they finally arrived at a topic that made the dog''s ears perk up again. "Boss we still can''t find the two men who went upstairs." [Oh shit.] Qin Hua gulped. The lackey continued, "Someone else is there for sure. They seem to have cleared the zombies upstairs." "Hmm¡­ You ladies know anything about this?" Benan asked, turning towards Alex, and Xu Meilin. The two women didn''t look up and simply nodded their heads. "Huh? Why are you silent? Weren''t you three in an apartment upstairs when we found you? Did you see anyone else?" The two still shook their head and did not say anything else. Lu Chen clenched his fist, a thin almost invisible icy mist swirling around it. Hmmm¡­ Benan scratched his chin. "How about you, dude?" He asked, turning towards Nan Zhong. "Hmmm? How about it? I can even throw in a handsome reward for anyone with information. Safety of our base should be our top priority." [Fuucck!] Qin Hua had a bad feeling. The tension was slowly building up and she could tell that things were about to break. [Make the right decision buddy. Make the right decision.] She muttered under her breath, but as she watched Nan Zhong''s chubby face, his ugly grin widened and he stepped forward. [Nope. This is over!] [Dark Shackles] Qin Hua muttered and immediately blocked the little kid first, while she simultaneously pounced on the leader. There was no longer any other option. Things were going to get chaotic and it was better that she utilized the advantage she had, the element of surprise. However, before she could reach him, her body hit a thick solid wall and she fell back. She looked at him confused as there was nothing around him. An invisible barrier? "I see you there." Benan grinned as he quickly got onto his feet. The man was pretty confident and calm for someone who was just attacked by a big dog out of the blue. He took out the small gun that he had placed on the side and started shooting at Qin Hua. The other lackeys, at least the one who had guns also started shooting and the entire place turned into a riot in the span of a second. No one had expected a beast to show up suddenly in the midst of them. They all started panicking and shooting left and right. Of course, except for Benan who was calm and collected because of his barrier skill. He now had a glowing light on his body and calmly observed Qin Hua as she dove back into a patch of darkness. One of the bullets grazed her body and a damage number floated up. Alex, Xu Meilin, and the other people who had been ''rescued'' by Benan screamed and ran to a corner to protect themselves from the rain of bullets. Meanwhile, Lu Chen swiveled around and took care of two of the lackeys shooting at Qin Hua by materializing two big ice spears and piercing their throats with the ice spears. He noticed how the boss had blocked Qin Hua''s attacks and hence he decided to take care of the small fries first. Besides, everyone''s attention was on the dog at the moment so he was easily able to take out a couple of lackeys shooting at her. But Nan Zhong saw this as his eyes alone observed both Lu Chen and Qin Hua. He instantly paled after witnessing how much Lu Chen had grown stronger in this short time. He started shaking his hands and pointing at him. "He is with the dog. Kill him. Kill him." [Motherfucker!] Qin Hua let out a huge growl, drowning his words with her bark, and directly pounced on the guy. Chapter 46: Bang Bang Boom Part2 [Woof! I should have killed you first!] Qin Hua did not hesitate. She did not falter and directly clawed at Nan Zong''s throat, sending him down in one powerful swing. [Useless! Pathetic!] Qin Hua growled as she once again plunged back into a patch of darkness. The bastard did not even give her experience points. She had hoped that no one paid attention to Lu Chen, but it was already too late. Benan stared at Lu Chen and at the couple of men who had fallen down. "Him. Get him." He shouted, and as he turned around, he saw another two men fall down with blood gushing from their throats. Guan Ye''s thin figure flickered. "You! What is happening here?" Seeing that the number of people fighting on his side reduced by half, that too so quickly and abruptly, Benan finally started panicking. "What are you doing, you IDIOTS?" He clutched his head and started randomly shooting around the room. Alex and the others screamed. They ducked and ran out of the room and hid behind a wall in the area where they waited previously. One of them was even shot and they left a trail of blood behind them as they moved to safety. [Shit. Shit. Shit] Qin Hua did not like this chaos one bit. The guy had done completely crazy. He wasn''t scared of shooting at all perhaps since he had the barrier. [If I can''t attack you¡­ then I will let you just run out of the bullets. Hmph] Seeing that Lu Chen was struggling with one of the lackeys, she diverted Benan''s attention and jumped in and out of the darkness in the room, her black blurry figure bouncing off the walls like a rubber ball. He was the one who was the most problematic right now because of his barrier. The other lackeys, even the one with the metal bending power did not put that much of a fight and was finished off by the assassin within seconds. Because they were in a huge group, it looked like several of them were simply intimidating, but severely lacked battle experience. They swung their overgrown bodies around and both Lu Chen and the assassin easily subdued them. However, there were still a couple of good fighters. One of the guys hit Lu Chen on the back of his head with a rod that was surprisingly much stronger than it looked. Lu Chen was caught off guard and his body trembled and his brain vibrated, his vision becoming blurry as a result. However, the assassin Guan Ye had his back and he appeared behind the lackey who was standing behind Lu Chen and slit his throat before he could attack him again. Lu Chen nodded, thanking the guy, the two of them working in silent coordination. Qin Hua, meanwhile, once again cast [Dark Shackles] on the kid and kept Benan busy. Soon, the entire group was almost wiped out and it had only taken them a couple of minutes. Benan looked around as if he had seen a ghost. He finally understood what was happening and stopped shooting at Qin Hua. "Why¡­ How could it be possible? Why is that beast helping you?" He looked at all the men who were scattered around, their huge corpses lying still on the ground and then he looked at the young boy who was still covered in mist. "What the¡­ What the hell? Why did you guys ruin everything? Where are the others? HELP! HEY! HEY! Get the hell over here." He shouted, screaming at the top of his lungs. Ever since the world turned to shit, things had looked up for him. He had been blessed by the Gods. When things attacked him, God protected him by not letting anything touch him. He found a group of people and built his own kingdom in just two days. He was a man blessed by Gods to rule this new world, so why¡­ Benan shivered, none of his previous arrogance or confidence visible on his face. Qin Hua finally, showed her face and stopped ducking into the darkness. Woof! Arrrrr! She growled at Benan. Both Lu Chen and Guan Ye as well looked at the man, one holding an ice spear in his hand and the other holding a knife dripping with blood. "I think if we just keep hitting him, the barrier should falter." Guan Ye suggested. He had observed Benan for a while and understood his power to a certain extent. "Alright. Leave it to me." Lu Chen pulled a chair and sat down. "You!" Benan shouted in anger. "Did I not treat you well? Why did you betray me?" He started to madly dash at Guan Ye when Lu Chen flicked his finger and sent a volley of ice spears towards him, holding him in place. Chapter 47: The doggo knows best His barrier trembled and Benan moved back, shuffling his feet, looking around in exasperation. There was no way out. There was absolutely no way out. Time was running short and he knew that he needed to act fast. He looked here and there for an escape, for a way out, but everyone else was dead. His gaze then landed on the little boy who was still covered by a thick dark mist. His eyes immediately widened. There was it! That boy was his only trump card! Benan dashed towards him and started shaking him. However, his hands went through the mist, but the boy was still unresponsive. In his frantic efforts, he completely failed to notice that the black mist was actually eating away at his barrier. Others couldn''t see the barrier around him, but he could, and now that the black mist was spreading around it, Qin Hua also could. [Woof! Let''s get this over with.] Qin Hua leaped into a shadow and pounced at the man from behind, and this time there was nothing to block her path. Her canines sunk into the man''s throat and Benan shrieked in pain, making one last effort to shoot at the big black dog. However, before he could, his hand was cleanly severed by a sharp icicle as Qin Hua chewed his throat and finished him off. Thud. Benan''s limp and lifeless body fell on the ground and an eerie silence enveloped the survivors, only to be broken by a dog''s excited bark. Level 11> Seeing that everything had settled down and there was no more fighting, the others who were hiding finally walked out from the waiting area. Xu Meilin immediately ran over to Lu Chen and hugged him, bawling her eyes out. Alex looked at Nan Zhong''s body which was still bleeding non-stop. The entire place was a pool of blood with corpses floating around. "Sorry about your friend." Guan Ye muttered. Alex shook her head. "He deserved it. It was long overdue." Her eyes then moved to the black dog that had tiredly settled on the ground, panting. It seemed to be eating some sort of roasted meat. Was it trying to recover its strength? She wondered. Her own stomach subconsciously growled from hunger, but Alex didn''t dare approach the dog, let alone eye the food it was gulping down. She walked over to Lu Chen as well and stood near him. "That''s your pet? That¡­ small white puppy?" She hesitantly asked. Lu Chen chuckled as he nodded his head. He freed himself from Xu Meilin''s grasp and walked over to Qin Hua''s side, rubbing her head. "Were you the one who took care of everyone else?" He asked, to which Qin Hua shook her head. [Of course, it was me. Who else? Woof!] Lu Chen sighed, letting out a long breath. "Thanks for not listening to me." He nuzzled her head and muttered. He had asked her to watch over Su Yan but clearly, the dog had no intention of following his orders and did whatever pleased her, even ending up saving his ass. If she had done exactly as she was told, he would have probably not made it alive, especially with Nan Zhong around. Lu Chen couldn''t help but wonder how could a dog think and accomplish something like this even if it was mutated and developed some sort of intelligence. Her behavior was extremely puzzling. While he looked into her elegant sharp eyes, trying to figure her out, Qin Hua was currently thinking of something else. [Ah shit! Su Yan!] Her body double had disappeared. Probably sometime in the middle of her fight or probably because of her casting [Dark Shackles] repeatedly. Woof! Woof! She barked hoping that Lu Chen would understand her but he seemed to be clueless. Qin Hua lifted her head up and pointed, even moving her eyeballs up. She did it three times consecutively and only then Lu Chen noticed her actions. Hmm? His eyes widened and coincidentally Alex asked him at the same time. "Where is Su Yan?" "I need to go check on him." Lu Chen shook his head. "His condition is not great." "What happened, brother Chen?" Xu Meilin worriedly asked. Qin Hua rolled her eyes and barked loudly. [Not the time for chit-chatting! Woof!] But she had a much better opinion of the two women now. When push came to shove, they did not betray them and stood by their side until the end. Lu Chen smiled, amused at the dog''s behavior. "Will tell you guys later. Let''s first clean up some things." He then turned his attention towards the boy, the dark mist slowly clearing away from him. Chapter 48: Please save my mother "Do you know something about him?" Lu Chen asked Guan Ye hoping that he was familiar with the kid and any potential abilities he might have. "No. Sorry. Benan always kept him close and the two of them were very secretive no matter what they did." "I only know that he has some sort of mental ability. I think he can form a bond perhaps or a mind control thing or a blessing maybe that makes people obedient to him." "I am not too sure." Guan Ye tried to explain and told everyone whatever he knew. "But the most important point is that the other party has to be willing. I refused to go through with it and they didn''t force me. I doubt it was because of the goodness of their heart." While he was explaining, the dark mist completely cleared and the kid appeared from within it. He looked at the pool of blood in front of him and immediately panicked, starting to cry. "No. No. No. Please don''t kill me. He made me do it." He looked extremely pitiful as he sobbed and wailed, his young face wilted like a flower that could melt anyone''s heart. Even Qin Hua couldn''t help but feel bad for him. It was just like she had thought. Benan probably forced him to do everything horrible that he had done. Not just her but Lu Chen, Guan Ye and every one else as well looked equally sympathetic. Perhaps because they were also afraid of this new and rotten world, they could empathize with the kid. As the kid continued sobbing and rubbing his eyes, one of the two women who had been hiding in the other room even rushed over and held the boy. "Please. Please. Don''t do anything to him. He is just a child." Everyone had just now witnessed Lu Chen and Guan Ye murdering or rather massacring Benan and his men. Moreover, these people were not aware of the truth yet. So they eyed these two guys and the dog panting next to them as if they were monsters. Lu Chen sighed. It was not like he was planning to kill the boy unless he threatened them, but there was something unsettling about the whole thing. He was especially wary of the mental ability as it was a very dangerous power. So even though he felt bad for the crying child, he still coldly looked at him and muttered. "Tell me everything." Guan Ye as well stood beside him, agreeing with his approach. He was glad that he had made this choice. Just like he had thought, this group of people were indeed saner than the last group. Hell anyone would have been more saner than the last group. Qin Hua as well agreed with what Lu Chen was doing and since he seemed to have a handle on everything here, she decided to leave the rest to Lu Chen and the others while she walked over to the elevator to go take a look at Su Yan. She was now very big and could even bring him back down all by herself. Qin Hua waddled lazily taking a few steps when she suddenly paused. Behind her, the kid was still sobbing loudly but what caught her attention was something else. "That bad man has my mother as hostage. Woo. Woo." "She is there upstairs somewhere. I didn''t want to do all those awful things. Please save her." He continued sobbing. She instantly knew that something was wrong as his words didn''t add up. Qin Hua stopped walking and turned back. She returned to Lu Chen''s and Guan Ye''s side, standing next to them. Her sharp eyes looked at the kid up and down. Their gaze briefly met and the kid immediately looked down. "Your mother is upstairs?" Lu Chen asked and the little boy nodded hurriedly. "In one of the rooms." "Alright. Let''s go take a look and let''s help her first." The little kid immediately rushed over to Lu Chen and hugged his leg. "You are the best, big brother! Please. Please. Let''s go fast." Lu Chen smiled and patted him. Everyone else as well was touched by the heartwarming scene. The two of them then started walking to the elevator as Qin Hua stared at the duo from behind. [A captive woman? I don''t think so.] She snarled, revealing her canines. She had taken several laps around the building but she hadn''t seen any woman held captive. The only women she saw were those who were working in the kitchen like drones and looked lifeless. Something didn''t add up and she was becoming more and more sure of it. Was the kid taking Lu Chen so that he could isolate him? As the elevator doors began to close in front of her, Qin Hua''s eyes met the little kid''s eyes and she recognized a familiar glint within them. It was the way that her family used to look at her. Chapter 49: Trust is expensive Qin Hua did not hesitate any longer and sprang into action. She kicked her heels and dashed forward leaping into whatever patch of darkness that she could find. She reached the elevator before it could fully close and stopped the doors with her own body. Growl! Everyone was startled including Lu Chen and Guan Ye, especially the little kid but Qin Hua did not bother explaining her actions. Not that she could. Without stopping there, she directly went for the little kid and used her paw to rip his head off. "Ahhhh!" The kid screamed, his eyes filled with shock, but Qin Hua had already sliced his small body into two halves, each falling down on the ground with a thud and blood filling the small space. Her actions were so decisive and ruthless that people watching her couldn''t help but shriek loudly. Even Guan Ye was taken aback at the sudden development. "That dog has gone crazy. Kill it. Kill it." The woman who was protecting the child earlier screamed and started crying. "What the hell man? Why is this beast here?" Another one shouted. Both Alex and Xu Meilin also had horrid expressions. None of them could take a small defenseless child being killed like this. However, Qin Hua''s eyes were fixated on Lu Chen and coincidentally, she also had a petrified expression on her face. She had forgotten. She had almost forgotten how terrible humans were. She had acted fast and yet she was too late. Standing in front of her, Lu Chen had a dazed look in his eyes. He was like one of the women upstairs who was perpetually lost, their souls sucked out. [No! No! No!] Qin Hua panicked. She dashed forward and nuzzled his body with her head, but the man was unresponsive. He only looked straight ahead and wobbled without saying anything. The person who was always smiling and messing around with her was no longer there anymore. Qin Hua froze. She didn''t know what to do now. She had done everything and it was still not enough? One thing was clear. She needed to become stronger. Much stronger than she was now. As she gazed at the little kid who was responsible for everything and the blood pooling from his body, she remembered the red-colored potion she had seen. [Can I use the healing potion?] She quickly pushed Lu Chen to the back of the elevator, forcing him to squat down with her paws. She then opened the system''s shop feature and clicked on the health potion, not thinking twice about spending the precious skill points she had received from leveling up. That was it. She couldn''t think of anything else. It was simply beyond her power to do anything else. She could only hope and pray that this works. A tiny vial materialized in her paw and Qin Hua quickly shoved the contents into Lu Chen''s mouth. Thankfully it didn''t have a screw top or anything that might need her to have more dexterity in her paws. She blinked and watched Lu Chen, her heart pounding heavily, but he was still unresponsive and a few seconds later, he closed his eyes and slipped down onto the blood on the floor as if he had fainted. Qin Hua was completely heartbroken. She let out a loud roar and as everyone was staring at them completely speechless, she pressed the elevator button and the doors closed with a ding. Not long after, the elevator once again opened and this time the big black dog dragged two people out, grabbing both of them by their shirt and collar in her mouth. Her eyes had a look in them that was as cold as hell itself. The beast seemed furious. Guan Ye was the first to realize what she was doing and quickly rushed forward to help the dog. He first moved Lu Chen to one of the couches in the lounge area and then Su Yan to the other one. He could vaguely guess what happened. The little kid probably possessed two kinds of mental abilities, one where permission was required and the other which could be implemented forcefully. In a last-ditch attempt, the kid probably used the second one on Lu Chen. Mental abilities were indeed truly terrifying! Guan Ye shook his head helplessly. Luckily for him, the kid never used it on him. He then turned his gaze to look at the dog, who now appeared to be the only one left who had any kind of strength. The others also stared at Qin Hua, completely terrified of her. They had no clue about what just happened and wondered what the crazy beast was going to do next. Except for Guan Ye, Alex, and Xu Meilin, some of the others even slowly backed out, wanting to run out of the apartment complex from hell, and the ferocious demon beast. However, before anyone could make a move and escape, loud bangs started echoing from outside the metal barricades. Chapter 50: Massacre Growl! Qin Hua turned her head to look at Guan Ye, her bloodshot eyes laced with rage and sadness. She looked at him and then looked back at the two unconscious slumbering bodies on the couch. "Do you¡­ Do you want me to take care of them?" Guan Ye hesitantly asked because even he was starting to feel a bit wary of the fierce beast. Qin Hua nodded her head up and down. And then right in front of everyone''s bulging eyes, her body split into two, two identical dogs now standing in front of them instead of just one. One animal had a set of green and blue orbs while the other dog had flaming violet eyes. Qin Hua let out another roar before her main body disappeared from sight and the shadow clone walked over to protectively settle in front of Lu Chen and Su Yan. Though she had also asked Guan Ye to guard them, she couldn''t bring herself to trust him completely. She had only let her guard down for a moment and already she had lost so much. She didn''t want to lose the rest of whatever she had once again. Qin Hua slipped out from under the metal barricade using the microscopic patch of darkness underneath and popped her head out to see what was creating the ruckus. Whatever it was, it had surely chosen a bad time to grab her attention. But the moment Qin Hua peeked outside¡­ she instantly froze¡­ Outside their apartment complex, an entire mob or rather herd of mana zombies roared and bellowed, a lot of them gathered together. They were beating down on the metal barricade and the building''s walls clearly wanting to tear it down. To make matters worse, more and more seemed to be walking in the same direction towards their building, slowly joining the group one by one. The number of zombies outside the complex even exceeded a hundred. Qin Hua blinked, only a part of her body hanging outside from under the door. She stood still gazing at the chaotic scene in front of her. And just as she did, as if sensing her presence several heads simultaneously turned towards her. KARAKA ROAR!!! A loud noise rumbled and the zombies started snarling and shouting and running towards her. They were not particularly strong but their sheer numbers were threatening to say the least. But Qin Hua was not in the least shaken. She continued to stand still, facing the mob, showing no signs of retreat. Her canines snapped and she let out an equally powerful and loud growl. Her paws clawed into the ground reflecting her resoluteness. Without another moment of hesitation, her huge pitch-black body leaped out from within the darkness and into the ferocious mob of mana crazed human beings. Roar! Qin Hua let out a loud growl and fully let herself go. Channeling all of her guilt, anger, and regret, she pummeled everything in sight. Her paws clawed whatever she could find, her teeth ground flesh and blood splattered left and right. Every time her body moved something got squished under her and experience points continuously rained. She was like a ball of destruction that rolled through the crowd, massacring her way through the madness. Her stamina was low. Her brain was tired. She was panting heavily but she kept going. Others might have been terrified to see something like this but to her, this was a mere stepping stone for pumping her strength and power. If she had been strong enough, Su Yan would have never gotten so injured. If she had been fast enough, Lu Chen would not have been mentally attacked. Qin Hua did not even notice that her eyes were glassy and tears were threatening to spill out. She howled in rage and went all out on a rampage. And how could mere humans, with their features only barely enhanced, withstand her full on assault? The huge herd of zombies could barely put up a fight against her and the numbers quickly dwindled. In the matter of a few minutes, she even leveled up twice, clearing the entire zone from top to bottom. Only a handful of the zombies remained and these seemed slightly more powerful and resistant to her one-sided bullying. Qin Hua panted seeing the last five zombies standing in front of her. Without giving her a second to catch her breath, one zombie lobed a huge fireball at her. Another zombie on the right had five hands and an unusually thick body and legs. Blood vessels popped out of its muscular body and it dashed towards the dog letting out a deafening roar. As if this was not enough, from the corner of her eyes Qin Hua could also see three green skinned creatures sneaking towards her. Chapter 51: Let us out Meanwhile¡­ "This¡­ Ahem¡­ Little white?" Guan Ye ruffled his head and walked over to the clone, unable to swallow the irony in the name. "Are you sure that you want me to stay here and not help you on the outside?" Qin Hua''s clone looked at Guan Ye, dazed for a moment, and nodded its head up and down. "Alright then. I will help you out." The skinny young man did not question her any further and casually walked over to sit down next to her. He as well vigilantly kept an eye on Lu Chen and Su Yan. "Hey. What the hell is this? What are you doing? Are you loose in the head??? That beast is going to tear you apart." One of the three men standing around couldn''t handle this any longer and started shouting. The loud banging noises that still echoed from outside, sounding as if the walls were going to crumble at any instant, also didn''t help the situation. Everyone was very nervous and scared. "I have had enough of this nonsense. I am going out now. I need to get out of here. Let me go." Another one started shouting. Even the two women who were standing also had expressions that said the same thing. Everyone wanted to leave and they couldn''t help but think that literally, any place was safer than this was. Qin Hua''s clone did not bother responding to them as she laid still and stared ahead with only one goal running in her head, to protect her two friends. Guan Ye, on the other hand, glanced in their direction, his eyes almost as scary as the dog''s. "Nobody has chained you to the floor. Feel free to walk out whenever you want." He indifferently muttered. The ungrateful idiots did not even have the slightest clue what was happening and he did not intend to waste his breath talking to them. "What do you mean we can leave? The place is locked, damn it! OPEN THE DOOR!" Heh. Guan Ye chuckled coldly. He looked at the person who started this outburst and calmly said, emphasizing each word as he spoke. "The person who built the walls and the door is already dead." He even pointed to a lump of flesh nearby to get his statement across. The person flinched at the sight of the dead body, his body trembling. "Listen man. I don''t want any trouble. I am just scared. I just want to get out of here. Please tell me how to leave." This time his tone was a lot different. Guan Ye, however, was still indifferent to his plight. Nevertheless, he shrugged his shoulders and replied. "If you want to leave, you can use the elevator and go to one of the top floors and use the fire exit." "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much." The man who was seemingly in his thirties sighed in relief and immediately started walking to the elevator. Taking him as their role model, the other two men and the two women also silently lowered their heads and started following him, leaving behind only Guan Ye, Xu Meilin, Alex, and of course, Qin Hua''s shadow clone. The elevator dinged and the group quickly shuffled their feet and entered inside in a hurry as soon as the doors opened. They randomly pressed a button for one of the top floors and seconds later disappeared without making a sound. The banging noises from the outside had also stopped so the entire apartment complex was now enveloped in an ominous silence except for the whirring sound of the elevator. "Do you think that they are really going outside?" Xu Meilin asked Alex, craning her neck upwards as if she could hear what is happening if she simply looked up. "It doesn''t matter to us." Alex replied. "As long as they stay out of our way, why should we care?" She looked at Lu Chen and then at Su Yan and then her gaze eventually settled on Guan Ye. He seemed like a cold and silent person but then considering their current situation probably almost everyone was like this, afraid to let their guard down. "Umm¡­ Hi. I am Alex." She introduced herself, to which Guan Ye politely nodded. "This is Xu Meilin. We were both fighting along with our friends here until this whole thing happened. We are originally residents of this place." "Do you also live in the apartment complex? I have never seen you around?" She probed to find out more about him. Guan Ye shook his head with a bitter smile. "I am not rich enough to live here. I was just delivering food in this area for my part-time job." "Ah, I see." Alex nodded. She also smiled and added. "None of that matters now. You are strong now and that''s what is important." While the three of them chatted, suddenly a deafening bang echoed and one of the barricaded walls of the lounge area blasted apart, a huge gaping hole now staring at their face. Chapter 52: Surrounded After the herd thinned out, only five zombies were left standing, but they seemed a lot stronger than normal mana zombies. To make matters worse, Qin Hua could also see three green-skinned creatures sneaking towards her. They didn''t approach her brazenly like the zombies. These hid behind the trees and watched her as if they were waiting for her and the zombies to start fighting. They were definitely far more intelligent and coordinated. [What the heck are these things?] Qin Hua panted. She didn''t have too much time to think. One of the zombies lobed a big ball of fire her way. It was too close and too big for her to dodge, but her body responded instinctively and she rolled over on the ground, quickly getting out of the way and leaping back onto her feet again. And just as she did, only narrowly missing from getting scorched and roasted, a heavy blow landed on her body, sending her back, crashing on the barricaded wall of the apartment. Before she could recover from the attack, the zombie once again dashed forward with a frenzy as if it intended to tear her apart, but this time she reacted fast and dove into a nearby shadow, managing to gain her upper hand. The zombie let out a loud roar and started pummeling the apartment complex in anger. It had five thick hands, muscles bulging and blood vessels popping and it banged the wall with all five hands. Within seconds, the parts of the wall without the metal reinforcement couldn''t put up with its force and began to crack. [Fuck!] Qin Hua panted, her eyes darting from left to right, her gaze coldly inspecting all her enemies. [How are they so strong?] Qin Hua gnashed her teeth. She now understood how one single blow was enough to fling her huge body back. She tried to inspect the green-skinned creatures next whom she had also seen around but weirdly they were missing. Before she could search for them more thoroughly, a loud crack sounded, bringing her focus back to the zombies. The apartment walls were crumbling and if she didn''t do anything, everyone inside, including Lu Chen and Su Yan would soon be in danger. Qin Hua decided to ignore the strange creatures for now and she leaped out of the shadow letting out a loud growl, once again diverting the attention of the zombies back to herself rather than on the building. All five zombies immediately rushed towards her, one already beginning to shoot out fireballs from its mouth. Qin Hua did not wait around for them to get to her. She dove into the shadows, popping out and showing her presence every other second, but kept moving further and further away from the building. She was taking the fight elsewhere in order to not risk damaging the building and once she was far enough, she stopped moving, turning her body around to face the zombies. Because of all the loud growling noises, another couple of weaklings had joined the fray and there were now 10 zombies coming at her. Qin Hua panted. She was completely surrounded and outnumbered but her sharp animal eyes gazed at the enemies in front of her with confidence. She knew exactly what to do. Before anyone could make a move, she summoned the system interface to put every single one of the stat points she had gained from recent level-ups in her mana attribute and used 5 out of her 8 remaining skill points to purchase [Chaos ball]. [Chaos ball] - Consumes 30 mana; Deals 20% of magic attack power damage; Has a high chance to ricochet off the enemy and land on a nearby enemy dealing double the previous damage; Can be leveled up for upgrades. It was the only AOE skill she had and though it was expensive, it was worth it, considering the situation she was in right now. Qin Hua also noticed that there were other additions to her shop menu, but now was not the time to leisurely shop around. She didn''t have that luxury. In the fraction of a second she had, she made this decision and was determined to see it through to the end. [Chaos Ball] She muttered under her breath, thick black fumes immediately materializing in front of her. They soon coagulated together becoming a small ball and shot forward in the direction she willed. Qin Hua sent the black ball of turbulent energy towards the strongest of the pack, the level 25 zombie, the one with the extra hands and she herself leaped forward snapping her canines at the weakest. She plunged her canines into the zombie tearing its throat and chest apart, while a deafening roar reverberated from nearby as if something was screaming from intense pain. Qin Hua glanced in that direction from the corner of her eyes and froze for a moment after seeing the huge gaping hole on the zombie''s body. [So powerful!] She licked her lips, diving into a shadow nearby. But neither the zombie nor the chaotic ball of energy was done just yet. Even with a hole in the stomach, bloody guts falling out of it, the big zombie dashed towards her, or at least the shadow she had disappeared into. And the black ball of energy as well swirled as if it was alive and bounced off to another zombie flailing its limbs nearby. This time the ball was slightly bigger and it hit the zombie in between its chest and shoulders, almost tearing its upper body apart. Qin Hua grinned. Now she was no longer at a disadvantage. Her mana was empty and her stamina was almost empty, but she knew that she had a fighting chance and that made her growl in excitement. She didn''t know how long the chaos ball was going to be bouncing back and forth, but this was a perfect distraction and she decided to use it to her advantage at least as long as it lasted. Chapter 53: I can play dirty too Part1 While the bunch of zombies were busily looking at the black ball of energy, Qin Hua dove out of the shadow and silently finished off the zombie she had previously maimed. <50 Experience points have been rewarded> The other zombies immediately noticed her presence and started to dash towards her once again, but she clutched the head of the fallen one in her mouth and took a big bite, scooping out the mana core. She then quickly disappeared back into the shadow, leaving behind only the zombie''s head which fell down with a thud on the ground, brain, and blood spilling out. The mana core instantly dissolved, somewhat quenching her stamina, health, and mana pool and she even gained more attributes from these stronger zombies. [Again!] She growled in excitement and leaped back out of the shadow onto one of the zombies in the back, closest to her. There were three standing next to next and these were the weak strays that had joined the fight after getting attracted by the sound and movement. She killed all three of them in the span of a second, bashing them together into meat paste with one single swipe of her paw. <5 Experience points have been rewarded> <5 Experience points have been rewarded> <5 Experience points have been rewarded> She didn''t bother collecting the mana cores from these just yet because the chaos ball could disappear at any instant and she didn''t want to waste this precious time. She jumped into another shadow and moved closer to the zombie that was lobbing around fireballs wildly. She hated dodging these and she wanted to at least get rid of this one while the confusion lasted. But weirdly, as she neared it, the zombie turned towards her even though she was hidden in the shadow. [Can it sense me somehow?] She revealed herself dodging the ball of fire which promptly came flying towards her and the next instant, others as well once again began rushing towards her. [Damn it!] Qin Hua dashed forward pouncing on the zombie that seemed faster than the others and chomped down on it instead of attacking the one with the fire ability. She then rammed her body against it and pushed it towards the one shooting out fires, both of them falling back. But it hardly did anything again as they stood back up and started dashing towards her once again. Meanwhile, the chaos ball bounced off of one of the zombies on the left side and was headed to one of the weaklings. Qin Hua''s eyes shone as she quickly positioned herself behind the zombie and just as the ball of energy shot through the weakling, the two stronger zombies came dashing at her and she ducked into a shadow at the last minute, the ball then directly smashing onto the two of them. Kaboom!!! A loud blast sounded and both the zombies were blasted to smithereens. <800 Experience points have been rewarded> <1500 Experience points have been rewarded> The ball had been slowly gathering energy and growing in size as it had already bounced off more than a few times. So it was powerful enough to decimate both the zombies, punching a big hole through both of them, and exploded right after, dispersing into nothingness. Qin Hua saw this and sighed in relief, glad that the attack had lasted for so long. She had also fallen back from the impact as she was caught in the crossfire of the explosion but nevertheless, she grinned wildly. There were now only two strong zombies in front of her and one had a huge hole in its stomach! This was something she could totally handle! Before she attacked them, her eyes darted towards the bloody mess and she saw two shining orbs in the midst of the scattered flesh and bones of the zombies. She quickly reached for it, absorbing the stat points and refilling her stamina and health. Qin Hua licked her lips in satisfaction as she felt her body becoming lighter and stronger. The higher-level zombies were indeed difficult to battle but they also gave out proportionally bigger rewards. She then turned her gaze and dashed towards the last two zombies, one almost at the deathbed and the other weirdly whipping its hands about. Instead of human hands, this zombie had sharp metallic whips instead and it tried to slice and dice the dog standing in front of it. This fight was going to be difficult, but the zombie''s ability was not that intimidating either. Having faced this much, Qin Hua did not even think twice and instinctively activated [Dash] ability and dodged the whip attacks. Her mana was almost fully recovered and she only needed to wait for a few seconds before casting chaos ball again. She planned to throw the ball at the zombie and then slip back and attack from behind. The other zombie was so slow dragging its feet that she didn''t even bother paying attention to it at the moment. But just as she dove into a shadow and appeared behind that zombie, suddenly Qin Hua felt her back prickle and as she turned around, she saw the three green creatures once again! The zombie as well noticed her presence behind it and turned around flailing its whips at her once again. [Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why the fuck am I once again cornered!] Qin Hua glared at the goblins in front of her. The bastards had waited until she was worn out and was in a disadvantageous position before making their move. She could clearly see the thoughts running in their brain. Just like how she had killed the rat for points, these creatures circled her. Here, she was the beast and they were hunting her. Amused at this role reversal, she snarled, revealing her threatening canines. [Bring it on!] It was either kill or die and she was not planning to die today! Awwooooooo! Chapter 54: I can play dirty too Part2 [Goblins??] Qin Hua stared at the three skinny green creatures in front of her. They made some weird noises that she did not understand and they rushed towards her with their shining daggers. Qin Hua flinched. When she was fighting with the lackeys back in the apartment complex, some of them had tried attacking her with kitchen knives, but that only barely grazed her skin. However, she didn''t want to make that same assumption with the threatening daggers they were holding. She tried inspecting it but that didn''t reveal anything. Deciding against fighting them head-on, Qin Hua activated [Dash] and jumped into a shadow nearby before the goblins reached her. Though because of her huge body, one of the attacks went through and a chunk of her health dropped. The goblins were also extremely agile and matched her speed without any effort. She didn''t worry about it too much, as she had jumped into a shadow, and now had a second to take a breather and come up with some sort of solution. But before she could even finish that thought¡­ Stab! The goblins did not stop even after she had jumped into the shadow and accurately continued to attack the spot where she had disappeared. Another chunk of health disappeared and Qin Hua almost dropped her jaw on the ground. She still received damage in the shadow form! Even though it was considerably less, it looked like she can still be attacked and injured while hidden in the shadow. She quickly moved away jumping into a different shadow and kept bouncing around. Both the goblins and the zombie craned their necks left and right trying to follow her movements, but she successfully managed to throw them off their scent. She hid in the shadows and stalked the three goblins patiently as they ganged up on the zombie, killing it in under 10 seconds. The zombie waved its sharp whip-like hands but the goblins were faster and their daggers cut through its body like it was butter. Qin Hua gulped seeing that unbelievable scene. All this while, she had assumed that the zombies were the disaster that had fallen upon the world, but it seemed that the real disaster was these otherworldly creatures. How were they even getting here? She shook her head and tried to focus on the problem at hand. She had the option to escape just like this. She didn''t really have to fight these three goblins. Well, at least for now. On the other hand, if she at all decided to fight them, it was very dangerous and had considerable risk, not to mention it was 1 Vs 3. Unfortunately, while she was still mulling over her decision, it looked like she no longer had the second option available. The goblins had now given up on her and they quickly started walking towards the apartment complex which now had a huge gaping hole and was no longer secure. [Damn it.] Qin Hua immediately jumped out, letting out a loud howl. She simultaneously cast [Chaos Ball] flicking the small bundled up mass of black fumes towards one of the goblins. It didn''t directly blow a hole through the goblin as it did with the zombies but it still slowed it down, bouncing off to the next goblin running in front of it. The goblins immediately turned their attention back to her and started dashing towards her. Qin Hua dove into a shadow and pounced on the weakest of the goblins. It waved its dagger at her, but she nimbly dodged it and sunk her canines on its back muscles. Blood seeped out of the goblin as it wobbled but the other goblin meanwhile managed to stab her 3 times! Qin Hua''s health quickly dropped down, plummeting all the way to one-thirds of her health. Blood sprayed out of her body as well as she dodged another attack from the second goblin and went back to take another swing at the first goblin whom she had gravely injured. But she was not lucky and the chaos ball had already disappeared. So the third goblin as well dashed towards her and she was completely overwhelmed. Facing all three of them at the same time was beyond her limits. The goblins realized this as well and they started speaking loudly in their language and grinning at the big black dog which was almost dead. Qin Hua did not know what they were talking about but she could see that they were laughing at her. A sharp pain zigged and zagged through her body as more blood was spilling out. She needed to flee. Now. Otherwise, she would surely end up dead. But she couldn''t do that. She had no other choice but to defeat them somehow. She was all that was standing in between these creatures and her friends. She growled angrily preparing to jump into another shadow, but her body froze. Suddenly, the big black dog that looked wounded and angry was also grinning. [Fu Fu Fu! It''s not over yet bastards!] Qin Hua revealed her canines which didn''t look cute or adorable on her like it used to. In fact, it could extremely evil and sinister. Her devilish grin even made the goblins take a step back. The beast was clearly close to death, but they could feel that something was amiss. And just as their gut feeling told them, the beast that was bleeding out right in front of them, suddenly raised its paw and popped something small into its mouth. Qin Hua closed her eyes and when one of the goblins stepped forward in confusion to finish her off, her body disappeared into her own shadow. The three looked extremely alarmed and looked around here and there when suddenly the one on the right felt a searing pain on its back and blood dripped from its throat. Before it could react, something ripped and it fell on the floor, its eyes filled with a horrified expression as it stared at the lower half of the body which was right beside, but¡­ without a head¡­ Chapter 55: I can play dirty too Part3 <100 Experience points have been rewarded> Qin Hua disappeared once again. The two other goblins immediately rushed forward and stood back to back but the dog merely grinned as she looked down at the two foolish goblins. 1 vs 3 might be overwhelming but 1 vs 2 was completely manageable for her. [It''s useless idiots. Give up already. Woof!] She snarled and cast [Dark shackles] on the goblin on the right, completely imprisoning him on the spot. As fear and dread filled the other goblin''s eyes, Qin Hua growled and pounced on it, clawing its throat out, her paws swinging like sharp blades. The goblin as well swung its dagger madly, but its small body was no match for her and even though it was stronger than her, she ripped its body into shreds, not caring about the damage she was taking. And when her health was about to bottom out, she downed another health potion and finished the fight, grinning wildly. <1500 Experience points have been rewarded> The goblins gave more experience than the mana zombies! The mana core sticking out of its neck also seemed to be bigger! [Perfect! I should give this core to Lu Chen!] Qin Hua excitedly licked her lips, cleaning the blood off of her snout but then she remembered that he was still unconscious and probably would never wake up. Even if he did¡­ his mind might have already been scrambled beyond recognition... Fear and sadness washed over her, but she shook her head. The fight was still not over and she needed to focus. Her eyes glared at the enemy as she waited for the last one to be released from its shackles. As soon as the black mist swirling around the goblin cleared up, she jumped on it, toppling it and crushing it underneath her. Fighting one on one with her, the third goblin as well was no match for her and it wailed before falling down with a thud and joining its comrades. <1800 Experience points have been rewarded> Kicking the dead body with her paw, Qin Hua noticed that this goblin had some sort of pouch stuck to his waist. She swiped her paw to pick it up, and another loud roar sounded behind her. A bunch of zombies were once again dashing towards her! [Woof! How are they coming here? Are they attracted to my strength?] Her gaze fell on the goblin''s mana core. [or perhaps¡­ I have a mana core and they are attracted to this? Are they sensing the mana in the body and finding me?] Qin Hua did not have time to think. She put a pin on that theory, threw the pouch into her inventory space, and flung her body onto the incoming swarm of zombies. It looked like all the zombies in the entire street and the next street were slowly rushing towards her even though clearly they were walking to their deaths. Qin Hua did not care. She was happy to chew, spit and burn everything in sight as once she stopped fighting, she would only be inevitably reminded of the painful reality and the fact that she was all alone. She had lost the two important people in her life and she was all alone once again, just like her previous life. She howled and jumped into the fray going on a rampage. Her brain was bombarded with notifications and blood and body parts flew around everywhere. After fighting with the goblins and the abnormal zombies, these normal lower-level zombies were more like cannon fodder for her. They couldn''t even scratch her skin. Qin Hua was running wild, her teeth and paws acting like killing machines. Within seconds her entire body was drenched in blood. She clawed left and right and her chaos ball became so big and uncontrollable that it took care of half the numbers. Numerous zombies were getting massacred and it looked like she was cleaning up the entirety of that area. Dozens of corpses littered on the ground and the thick stench of death swirled in the air. By the time, she got to the last zombie, she had completely lost it and was pummeling it over and over even though it was long dead. Her eyes were bloodshot and her blood was boiling. In her crazed state, she suddenly felt something touch her shoulders and she turned around, ready to tear apart that as well into shreds. But unexpectedly, when her body launched forward, it slammed into a thick slab of ice, the slab entirely crumbling into pieces from the impact. "Little white. It''s me. It''s me. Don''t break me. Aha ha ha ha." Qin Hua froze as her eyes fell on the familiar figure standing in front of her. He had a silly smile on his face and ruffled his head looking awkwardly at her terrifying form. Blood dripped from her canines as she continued to stare completely dazed. She was afraid that the person would disappear if she blinked. Lu Chen smiled looking at the very human-like face the dog made and he lifted his arms up, calling her for a hug. Qin Hua finally moved. She didn''t intend to but big fat tears rolled out of her eyes and fell on the ground like bloody raindrops washing the clotted blood on her fur. She walked over to Lu Chen and for once decided to hug him back but¡­ the minute her paw touched him, Lu Chen fell back on his butt. What the hell? Her single paw tap is enough to topple me? His eyes widened. His cute cuddly puppy was a real monster now!!! He started laughing at the unbelievable sight in front of him. "Little white, let''s not hug alright?" He chuckled, snorting out the words in between. Qin Hua pouted, a frown forming on her face. She felt very wronged. The one time she wanted a hug¡­ she was rejected???? Chapter 56: I am fine On a wide street littered with numerous corpses, blood, and flesh, a young man sat on the ground and a big black dog was walking around him in circles. "See, I told you. I am completely fine. I am feeling great." Lu Chen stood up, warmly smiling at the beast that looked like a ferocious demon from hell but was currently gazing at him in concern. It would have been such a heartwarming scene if not for the stench of death and dried blood stuck on the dog''s pitch black fur. He leaned forward and nuzzled her head until a tongue stuck out, licking him reluctantly. Lu Chen smiled. He wrapped both his hands around her big furry head and hugged her silently for a minute. "I am alright. I am fine. I will be more careful from now on. Thank you for taking care of me." Such a silly smile! Qin Hua turned her head away, a bit too overwhelmed by the jolt of emotions. She wiggled out of his embrace, let out a low bark, and then suddenly jumped to their right, pulling out one of the goblin''s corpses from underneath a pile of mess. She tore the goblin''s head away which was already half mangled and kicked it towards Lu Chen, with a small white orb shining in the midst of the flesh. Huh? Lu Chen''s eyes widened. He didn''t realize that she had gotten strong enough to slay these strange creatures as well. These were definitely stronger than the normal zombies and so the mana core should be more useful as well. "You want me to use this?" He asked, looking at the dog in puzzlement. Didn''t she want to use it for herself? Qin Hua nodded her head up and down, licking her mouth. She then once again pounced back into the messy pile of corpses and brought out another goblin''s head which she threw towards Guan Ye. The assassin was quietly holding Su Yan''s unconscious body and standing on the side, along with Alex and Xu Meilin. If not for him guarding her friends meticulously, she perhaps wouldn''t have been able to see them again. So she was not stingy with her gratitude. Lu Chen was shocked and Guan Ye was even more shocked. But both of them did not stand on ceremony and quickly accepted her gifts. The goblin''s mana cores were slightly bigger in size and as soon as they touched it, a wave of energy swept across their bodies. Qin Hua watched their surprised faces and licked her lips in satisfaction. She then busily got to work as there were a lot of corpses around them and most still had their mana cores intact. Seeing her, the others as well did not stand around and quickly got to work. At first, they simply brought over the zombies'' heads to the black dog, even the two girls, though they were completely repulsed and disgusted to hold nasty bleeding severed heads. But Qin Hua shook her head and signaled them to use it for themselves. The mana cores from the normal zombies no longer gave her a significant upgrade. They just gave one or two stat points which were of course still good. But more than her, the others needed it, especially Alex and Xu Meilin who were considerably weaker than the others and had no special abilities. So she simply signaled them to use it for themselves. "T¡­ thanks, little¡­ white." Xu Meilin smiled weakly and nodded and Alex as well revealed a similar expression before clearing out everything quickly. The two of them tried their best to not be scared by the giant dog but they couldn''t help it as Qin Hua''s appearance was just that gory. Everyone carefully combed through the street, not leaving even a single corpse unturned and absorbed as many mana cores as they possibly could. With her shadow clone, Qin Hua was happily cleaning out twice as fast as the others but she had farmed a lot of zombies this time around, so everyone had plenty. Even Alex and Xu Meilin could feel a significant difference after absorbing so many mana cores. They now felt much stronger and faster and their movements were more free and unrestrained. As the group continued to rip the zombies one by one and take out the cores, the five people who had left earlier, not wanting to stay with them walked out of the apartment complex. The coast was now more or less cleared, but they were dragging their feet on the ground, staring at the group enviously. "We should have just stayed with them." One of them muttered, eying the middle-aged man indignantly. "Did I force you to come with me?" Luo Zu barked back. Even he was regretting his decision and this idiot was rubbing it on his face! The two women, however, looked at each other and nodded in silent understanding. After a couple of minutes, they then started walking towards Alex and Xu Meilin. "What the heck??" The others watched them with their mouths wide open as the two women bowed respectfully and muttered something to everyone. They all seemed to be talking within themselves. The others couldn''t exactly hear them but after a few seconds, the two women smile and bowed again and again, as if they were thanking them profusely. "What the hell?! What is so special about these brats?" Luo Zu chewed his nails and spat out. "They just got their hands on those white color balls before us. Otherwise, we could have also become strong like them." He turned around only to see that he was talking to air. The other two men had also started walking towards Lu Chen and Guan Ye and just like the women, it looked like they as well apologized and then got accepted into the group. "Damn it. Damn it." Luo Zu gritted his teeth angrily. He also wanted to join them but he had run his stupid mouth too much earlier. He didn''t have the face to shamelessly go and apologize. But then again, losing face was better than dying, so he quickly swallowed his shame and walked over to the group as well. Chapter 57: Rip and maul After clearing out all the zombies, everyone returned back to the apartment complex to rest for a while and fill their stomachs. Unfortunately, the walls had been irreparably damaged and it was no longer a safe place to stay but no one cared about that as they were only resting here temporarily. The newcomers volunteered to help out and used the things in the apartments around them to make two big batches of noodles with pork chops. Meanwhile, Qin Hua laid silently near Lu Chen and munched on the roasted meat which she had swiped before from the thugs. She passed some to Lu Chen as well, no one else receiving the special treatment. "Little white, what is this meat?" Lu Chen rubbed her head and asked. [ Huuu¡­ I am too lazy to signal and explain¡­] Qin Hua opened her eyelids just enough to peek at him lightly and then quickly closed it back, silently chewing the meat. Lu Chen couldn''t help but chuckle at her cute face, which didn''t look as cute to the others, and rubbed her head again. He as well then silently munched on the few pieces of roasted meat that Qin Hua had pushed towards him. The others gulped and decided to not look at the duo. Though almost all of them were hungry, they didn''t dare ask the dog to share its food. They could only wait for the three men to finish cooking the food. Soon the food was ready and everybody began to eat with gusto. Qin Hua lazily growled and swayed her thick body into one of the apartments nearby. She banged the door open and strolled into the bathroom, squishing her body weirdly under the shower. The smell of blood and bits of flesh stuck to her body was too nauseating and she decided to take a quick shower to clean herself up. As the lukewarm water pelted on her body, washing all the filth away, it was strangely comforting. [Ahhhh¡­ This is soo good!] And then¡­ the quick showed turned into a long shower¡­ With the water still running, she lazily flicked open the status screen to check on everything. Level 12> Level 13> ¡­. ¡­. ¡­. A series of notifications chimed in immediately as she had ignored these back when she was busily fighting. There was no time to pause or even think so only now she had the chance to glance at them in detail. [Woof? Did I level up only twice? But I killed so many zombies!!! What a scam!] Qin Hua spat out the water in her mouth and once again tilted her furry head back to refill her mouth with fresh water to the brim. She had no idea if dogs even had their teeth brushed, but rinsing with water was the best she could do now. [Tch. Tch. I guess¡­ since the weaker zombies are no longer a threat to me now, they also don''t give out any experience points.] She shook her head and moved onto the next set of notifications. [What the¡­] Qin Hua dumbfoundedly stared at the list of upgrades. She had assumed that she would have to spend a lot of skill points to level these skills but fortunately, her brute grinding of the lower level zombies had pushed her skills out quite a bit. Qin Hua wiggled her body out of the shower space and then backed into the spot again, now cleaning the second half of her body. [Hu Hu Hu! Perfect! I am a scary super dog now. I will rip and maul all my enemies to shreds. La La La] Her shower singing voice or rather growling voice was loud enough to startle the others sitting outside a bit further from the bathroom she was using. Everyone couldn''t help but feel a chill creeping up their spines. What the hell was that dog up to now?! Only Lu Chen simply smiled and continued eating. Of course, the world around her was crumbling but Qin Hua still felt particularly chipper. She had taken care of a whole bunch of zombies and those goblin things and even leveled up in the process. Not to mention Lu Chen had healed completely and none of them were hurt. However, her mind then flitted over to Su Yan who was still in deep slumber but she shook her head quickly not wanting to think about it. [He will also wake up like Lu Chen in a few days! Everything will be fine. Woof!] She sighed and quickly flicked open her status screen, diverting her attention from Su Yan to all the new skills upgrades she had gained. ______________ Name: Qin Hua Species: Shadow hound Grade: Mid-tier Beast (Evolution possible) Level 13 (6000/11000) ______________ Health: 1500 Mana: 21 Strength: 70 Agility: 75 Stamina: 43 Intelligence: 20 Wisdom: 20 ______________ [ Waaahhh! My health is so less??? This won''t do! This won''t do at all!] Qin Hua gulped thinking back to how she had been throwing around her chubby overgrown body at her enemies left and right, flattening them with her weight. She had a massive body so she had subconsciously ignored her health but looking at her stats now, she could see exactly how dangerous that was. She had been fighting with her life on the line all along! Chapter 58: Cleansing potion Part1 [System, how do I improve my health?] Qin Hua quickly asked, closing the shower tap with her paw, trying her best to not break any piping. Water was after all something precious, especially while the world was going crazy. The system promptly answered her. Qin Hua eyed all the explanations and seriously bobbed her head up and down. [Hmmm¡­ Health and stamina are definitely one of my weak points.] She was in deep thought as she walked out to join the rest of the group. She was, of course, drizzling water everywhere, her massive body dripping wet, but her fur was now very shiny and glossy and she looked like she was made of high-quality silk. As soon as the others laid their eyes on her, even though they knew that she could probably be a demon dog from hell, a ruthless killing machine, they still couldn''t help but want to pet her. But Lu Chen was the only one who dared to go closer to her. "Little white! You will catch a cold!" He sounded like a worried mother and quickly took out one of the towels from the pile of clothes nearby they had scavenged in the last hour. What the hell was he talking about?!! How could that demon dog even catch something like common cold??!! Everyone was gobsmacked. Even the timid Xu Meilin couldn''t help but widen her eyes and stare at the ridiculous sight unfolding in front of her. The big black dog was quietly lying next to Lu Chen on the carpeted floor and he was rubbing it gently as if he was simply giving belly rubs and neck rubs to his pet dog. Qin Hua wanted to protest at first but she gave up quickly. [Ahhh! I am not a dog! Stop petting meeeee¡­ Hmm¡­ Never mind this feels good.] She wanted to take a look at the rest of the things but after the food and the warm bath and now the belly rubs, her eyelids were almost closed shut. While others stared at her with their mouths wide open, Guan Ye smiled and walked over to sit beside Lu Chen. "Brother, so what are we doing now? What is the plan?" "Hmm¡­" Lu Chen nodded. "I am thinking about the same issue. We cannot stay here anymore. These walls are damaged and the building is completely exposed." "There are also several corpses out front and it''s already beginning to smell a lot. Also, I am not sure if these corpses will attract more enemies." The two of them whispered so as to not disturb Qin Hua but she was still listening to them. She lifted her head and lapped her tongue around her mouth, her eyes still closed. She wanted to tell them that the corpses in fact wouldn''t attract any enemies or at least the abnormal ones. They might still attract other human beings but Qin Hua was sure that all of these zombies, the mutated beasts, and the goblins were rather attracted to mana cores. She was sure that each and every one of them had some sort of a mana core within their bodies and this was probably the center of their strength, power, and everything. But weirdly, the humans they had killed earlier did not possess anything resembling a small white orb full of energy. While Lu Chen and Guan Ye continued to discuss the different things that they could be doing now, Qin Hua decided to ask the system about this. [Ah! So I can also form a mana core?] Qin Hua''s ears perked up and she was suddenly fully alert. It looked like they didn''t have cores just yet but they were capable of forming one, well at least the beasts. [System, if I form a mana core, will my power further increase?] Qin Hua bobbed her head up and down. She slowly felt like she was understanding more and more about the world that they were currently living in. The air around them had this new energy called mana and they were actually able to absorb this energy, strengthen themselves and perform magic. While some of the humans were able to smoothly adjust to this new energy, some couldn''t and turned into mindless zombies. And there was also a third category of the population who not only were able to adjust to mana but they also awakened special abilities. Qin Hua flashed her eyes open in excitement and quickly turned around to look at Lu Chen to share this information. But¡­ [Sigh! I am still a dog¡­] She pouted in silence and went back to lying on the ground with her head lazily sprawled. "Huh? What happened, little white?" Lu Chen noticed her weird behavior and asked, but she shook her head. There was no way for her to communicate something like this with him. "You want more back rubs?" He started rubbing her back once again and Qin Hua let out another long sigh. [Wooof. I guess I will just take what I get¡­] After giving her some attention, Lu Chen went back to discussing things with Guan Ye, Alex, and the others while Qin Hua started further probing the system with more questions. [Mmm¡­ How do I form this mana core? Wait, didn''t the other beasts have mana cores? How am I different from them? Does this have something to do with the evolution?] Qin Hua clearly remembered the evolution path that she had chosen and how that had allowed her to use all these new spells and abilities. So she wondered if she was somehow different from the normal beasts around her. Almost immediately, a swift reply sounded. [Woof? How do I improve my condition then?] The system immediately started giving out Qin Hua the same set of basic information which she was already aware of. She swatted her paw at the air in front of her with annoyance and was about to close her eyes back to get some more rest when suddenly the last answer from the system chimed in. [Woof! Woof! I did indeed level up twice, but already new items are available in the shop??] Qin Hua made a mental note to check the shop feature more often and quickly summoned it. ______________ [Inspect] [Purchased] - Cost: 2 Skill points; Allows the user to obtain information about an object, both animate and inanimate; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Space vault] [Purchased] - Cost: 10 Skill points; A dimensional magic spell that enables the user to store various items; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Dark shackles] [Purchased] - Cost: 2 Skill points; Allows the user to bind the target in place, preventing any and all movements; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Chaos ball] [Purchased] - Cost: 5 Skill points; Consumes 30 mana; Deals 20% of magic attack power damage; Has a high chance to ricochet off the enemy and land on a nearby enemy dealing double the previous damage; Can be leveled up for upgrades. ______________ [Corruption] - Cost: 5 Skill points; Deals damage to mind, body, and soul; 10% of magic attack power instant damage and 50% of magic attack power damage dealt over 20 seconds; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Chaos bolt] - Cost: 3 Skill points; Deals 110% of magic attack power damage; Can be leveled up for upgrades. [Health potion] - Cost: 2 Skill points; Recovers the complete health of the user and removes all effects of toxins in the system. [Mana potion] - Cost: 2 Skill points; Recovers the complete mana reserve of the user and removes all disorienting spells in effect. [Cleansing potion, Low grade] - Cost: 5 Skill points; Removes all the impurities present in the physical body ______________ Qin Hua''s eyes darted from top to bottom curiously and they twinkled as she gazed at the last item on the shop menu. [System, this should be what I need to form a mana core right?] Seeing the system spit out the same definition, Qin Hua rolled around on the ground in frustration, but even without an explicit answer, she could already tell that her assumption was probably correct. She quickly stood back up as there was more work to be done! She needed to drink one of these Cleansing potions as soon as possible! But unfortunately, she had used up the last of her skill points when she purchased those health potions and now she had zero left. [Fuccck! These skill points are never enough!] Chapter 59: Cleansing potion Part2 Qin Hua eyed the cleansing potion longingly and then rolled back to Lu Chen. She suddenly felt a lot more energetic and was done resting. She had the itch to go out hunting again but the sky had already darkened outside. [Hmph! So what?] Now that they had survived the initial 24 hours of the calamity that had befallen the entire planet, the normal zombies were no longer a threat to them. In fact, these were no longer a threat to anyone who had survived up until now. Everyone would have absorbed one or more mana cores and their basic abilities would already be enhanced. It now made more sense to actively hunt and grind as many as these weak zombies that they could get their hands on so that they could push their limits as much as possible. If they don''t do this fast enough, they would inevitably only lag behind others who manage to do grind more zombies and raise their stats. Woof! Woof! Woof! Qin Hua sprang up on all her fours and started barking loudly. [Let''s go! Lu Chen! Get off your ass. Your master is ordering you!] She grinned excitedly, which made her look extremely monstrous. Everyone who looked at her shivered subconsciously. But Lu Chen still had his calm smile plastered on his face. "Eh? Little white¡­ what happened? More petting?" [Damn it! Who wants your petting? Growl.] [Umm¡­ I mean¡­ maybe later.] She then used her head to signal to the outside of the building and made small jumping actions to imply that she wanted to go out. "Huh? You want to go out?" Lu Chen looked at her in confusion. Qin Hua jumped up and down, nodding in agreement, her huge body making everyone nervous. "Maybe the dog wants to take a piss?" Luo Zu suggested grumpily, already tired of the fuss kicked up by the giant overgrown demon dog. Qin Hua was petrified! [How dare he?!] She turned around to give the man a nasty glare and let out a low growl as if she was warning him. [Can I bite his head off?!] Lu Chen chuckled at the expression on her face and then signaled Luo Zu to not say anything by placing his finger on his lips. "I was just trying to help¡­" Luo Zu grumbled and quietly looked away. [If you want to help, get the fuck out and kill some zombies! Hmph!] Qin Hua gave him another glare before turning back to Lu Chen. She thought for a moment about how to communicate and then her bulb lit up. The daggers! Qin Hua had been meaning to give the daggers she had picked up from the goblins to these guys. Those weapons were definitely better than the kitchen knives they had been using all this while. She summoned her inventory, not even bothering to hide that she had special abilities at this point. Everyone had special abilities, so who would even care? She was about to swipe and bring out the three daggers when she saw a string of unexpected words written above each dagger. ______________ Dagger 1: Red Fang Dagger Exchange value: 30 coins Dagger 2: Dull Bronze Dagger Exchange value: 5 coins Dagger 3: Steel Cut Dagger Exchange value: 25 coins ______________ [What the¡­] The dog who was barking restlessly and jumping up and down just seconds ago had all of a sudden completely calmed down. The others could only look at her with weird expressions, all of them coming to the same consensus. This dog was surely getting crazier by the minute! As if nothing had happened, Qin Hua settled back next to Lu Chen and silently analyzed this new development. [System, what are these coins? Can I use it to buy the items in the shop?] That was the first question on her mind as it was getting ridiculously expensive to buy the things with her skill points. She could even use them up on leveling some of her stagnant skills but it was all getting used up in potions and buying new skills. These never seem to be enough. Not to mention the health potions were nothing short of life saving. She hadn''t used the mana potions just yet but she was pretty sure that they were equally valuable as well. So she really hoped that there would be some other way to purchase these things. She blinked and waited and a second later the system''s reply chimed in. [Yay!] She bobbed her head up and down in excitement and quickly exchanged the three daggers with the system by selecting that option. Weapons were indeed useful but she had her sharp canines and Lu Chen had his ice spears. Besides, she really wanted to use that cleansing potion to check how it would upgrade her body. The first time she evolved she had received these incredible skills and she even became an entirely different beast, no longer just remaining the simple house dog. Was this cleansing potion going to give an equally amazing result? Qin Hua licked her mouth in anticipation and summoned out the shop menu again. She now had a total of 60 coins and though she didn''t know the exact worth of a single coin, somehow this made her feel very rich. But¡­ just as the menu flashed in front of her, her expression paled. ______________ [Health potion] - Cost: 2 Skill points; 1000 coins; Recovers the complete health of the user and removes all effects of toxins in the system. [Mana potion] - Cost: 2 Skill points; 1000 coins; Recovers the complete mana reserve of the user and removes all disorienting spells in effect. [Cleansing potion, Low grade] - Cost: 5 Skill points; 200 coins; Removes all the impurities present in the physical body ______________ It looked like only potions could be purchased with coins and none of the skills were accessible and unfortunately, these as well looked quite out of reach for her at the moment. Chapter 60: Cleansing potion Part3 Qin Hua couldn''t stop herself from hitting her forehead with her paw, almost scratching her eyes in the process. At this point, she already had an idea about how this system operated and she should have known that it wouldn''t be so easy to purchase these things. [Ah damn it¡­ ] She sighed and melted onto the floor, her big head drooping in disappointment. She angrily threw another glare at Luo Zu and contemplated taking out her anger on the man who was still stuffing his stomach with noodles as if this was his last meal. He even had a bulge now and after eying that pot belly, Qin Hua remembered the other item she had picked up from the goblins. The pouch! Something small like that might probably just contain a couple of coins but still, there was a chance that there could be something valuable inside like diamonds or maybe other gems. Even if the pouch just had coins, it was still very intriguing. Because these goblins were definitely from another planet or perhaps conjured from magic out of thin air or just something that stepped straight out of hell! No matter where they were from, they surely didn''t belong to the earth and she was curious to see just what could they have stored in that small pouch. Qin Hua sprang up onto all her fours once again and then quickly waddled into one of the apartments. Lu Chen and Guan Ye were still busily discussing so they didn''t pay too much attention to what she was doing. And once she was inside, she quickly took out the small pouch from the inventory and it rolled onto the ground with a light thud. [OOoo!] Qin Hua''s eyes bulged as she curiously touched the pouch with her paw, trying to untie it or open it, but suddenly she felt a weird feeling as if she was putting her leg into some deep dark hole. She quickly took her paw away and eyed the small pouch with caution. [Hmmm¡­ What is this? Just to be safe, let me inspect it. Woof!] [Huh? What does this mean? I can see that it is a storage pouch damn it. Grrrr.] She moved it back and forth with her paw again when the same feeling once again returned, as if she was placing her paw inside a giant space. [Hmmm¡­ What if this was something like the system''s inventory space that I have?] Qin Hua''s eyes twinkled and she quickly placed her paw at the mouth of the pouch once again. Immediately an image of a big empty room with white walls appeared in her mind. It was approximately the size of their living room. Though most of the room was empty, there were still some things haphazardly lying on the floor. Qin Hua started panting in excitement as she recognized what they were. Daggers! More daggers!!! She wanted to take them out and suddenly they appeared out on the ground in front of her, next to the small pouch. [Hmmm¡­ So I just have to think to summon them out? Same as my inventory space! Hu Hu Hu!] She quickly transferred all the contents of the pouch into her inventory space, but she was forced to stop midway as there weren''t enough open slots in her inventory. [Woof! I really need to upgrade this. Ah. Wait. Never mind, I have this pouch anyways. Ha ha ha.] All 50 slots in her inventory space now sparkled with several new items, and of course, each had a coin exchange value attached to them. Clearly, the pouch had a lot of good stuff. Qin Hua suddenly felt as if she had hit the jackpot. She was rich! Really rich! But she didn''t plan on blindly exchanging everything. Coins were useful but these items could be useful as well. So she carefully inspected everything starting with the daggers. ______________ Rusted Iron Dagger Exchange value: 5 coins Dull Bronze Dagger Exchange value: 5 coins Rusted Iron Dagger Exchange value: 5 coins ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ______________ [Hmm¡­ Most of these weapons are useless trash. Did this goblin rob some armory?] Qin Hua didn''t even have to inspect all the daggers one by one as the system automatically quantified their worth for her. The daggers that had more coin value were obviously better than the daggers that had less coin exchange value. So she quickly exchanged everything that cost less than 20 coins, saving the ones which cost above 20 coins for the group. This itself netted her a whopping total of 250 points. [Yass! I can finally buy a cleansing potion!] Qin Hua couldn''t wait to summon the shop and buy the potion but before she could do that, another item caught her attention. Apart from the daggers, this item also seemed to be in excess quantity in the goblin''s storage pouch, or rather her new storage pouch. So she decided to take a quick look at it before opening the shop menu. She summoned it out and touched it with her paw. It was only a piece of cloth and there didn''t seem to be anything special about it. [What is this? A handkerchief? I guess even the goblins need something to wipe their snot with? Inspect.] As she continued poking and prodding the piece of linen cloth with her paw, her eyes moved to read the description and her face suddenly froze with a twisted expression. [L¡­ Loin cloth??? YUUUUCCCK!!] Qin Hua instantly dropped the small piece of cloth on the ground and backed away from it as if it was an explosive. The very fact that there were about dozens of the same in her inventory made her want to puke and throw the damn pouch away, but unfortunately, it was far too valuable for her to throw. How could this small piece of cloth be worth 5 coins??? She could understand rusted daggers and crooked daggers being worth 5 coins, but why were these stinky loin coins worth anything at all??? [Damn it. I need to level my Inspect skill fast!] Chapter 61: Cleansing potion Part4 Qin Hua sighed and tossed everything that was scattered on the ground in front of her back into the pouch or into her inventory space, even the dirty pieces of loin cloth. 5 coins was too much for her to ignore after all. She really wanted to know more about the properties of these items and what made them so valuable, but there was nothing she could do about that right now. So she closed her inventory and quickly opened the shop menu. [Purchase low grade cleansing potion!] A small vial appeared in her hand, similar to the vial that contained health potion. Somehow this only cost 200 coins while the health potion cost 1000 coins. Qin Hua didn''t think too much about it because the health potion was simply too valuable as it could restore the complete health in an instant. Not many items could probably compare to it but that didn''t mean that this one was less valuable. She grinned, looking at the small vial and then quickly tossed its contents into her mouth. 1 second¡­ 2 second¡­ Qin Hua waited for something to happen, maybe something like what happened when she evolved. A few more seconds passed but nothing changed. She felt completely normal. [Hmmm¡­] She tapped her paw for a few more minutes and then eventually walked out to meet with the others. Now that they had plenty of weapons, they needed to go out and hunt again! The sooner the better! Qin Hua did not notice it but as she walked out, there were oily grimy paw prints on the floor behind her. In fact, her entire body had slowly started to drip out a pungent black liquid. Everyone immediately turned to look at her as the bad smell was very pronounced and it was unmistakably radiating from her and when Qin Hua noticed it too, it was already too late. "Eh? Little white, are you alright?" Lu Chen worriedly walked over to her even though she was stinking like dried fish and rotten egg blended together. Qin Hua blinked and stared back dumbfoundedly at him. She didn''t know how to respond to him because while she was stinking and oozing black oil, she was also coincidentally viewing a new set of notifications. [Ehhhh? Ehhhh? So amazing!!!] Lu Chen was worriedly looking at her, but Qin Hua''s eyes were full of sparkles. She checked out all the notifications several times, making sure not to miss any and then grinned, revealing her sharp deadly canines. Everyone felt a cold shiver running down their spines and quickly looked away. Qin Hua was not insulted by this. In fact, she very much liked their reaction. She grinned contently and took out 9 daggers from her inventory, clattering them all on the ground. Luckily she was able to place the pouch in the inventory so that worked out well for her, not requiring her to tie it around her neck or do anything else that would be inconvenient. "What is all this, little white?" Lu Chen curiously asked, not in the least surprised by this sudden mount of weapons and Qin Hua kicked one of the better looking daggers towards him, answering his question. She then used her other paw to side kick another dagger towards Guan Ye and started walking out of the apartment complex, hoping that they would have got the message by now and would follow her. Lu Chen stared at the dagger at his feet and shifted his gaze to look at the dog waiting for him. Her figure was now comparatively smaller than her previous proportions. How was little white able to shrink her body? He shrugged and chuckled as this was the least of his concern. He decided to not question anything at the moment and simply go with the flow. He took the dagger in his hand, immediately feeling the sharp coldness of the steel. It felt as light as air. Without even knowing what it was, he could tell that it was a good weapon perhaps like the fancy Katanas used by Japanese warriors or even better than that. Near him, Guan Ye had also picked up the dagger and was examining it keenly. Lu Chen was more used to fighting with his ice magic but since Guan Ye primarily depended on hand to hand combat, he appreciated the dagger a lot more. He swung it around a few times and instantly replaced his current kitchen knives with the dagger. The two of them looked at each other, nodding in silent agreement. Following their actions, everyone else as well bravely stepped forward to pick up their respective weapons. "Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait a second guys. Are we heading out now? It''s dark right? Shouldn''t be safer to keep watch and rest for the night and head out tomorrow morning?" Luo Zu nervously mumbled. The others also had similar opinions but they were too nervous and scared to speak out. Only one of the five newcomers openly supported Luo Zu and added. "Ya, I also think that would be¡­ umm¡­ better." Lu Chen had already walked over to Su Yan and was trying to figure out how to keep him safe while they moved and hunted, so it was Alex who replied this time. "We have to keep hunting. Otherwise we will fall behind." Chapter 62: The cat is back "We have to keep hunting. Otherwise, we will fall behind." Alex stated. None of them were sure what was going to happen tomorrow, so they needed to become as strong as possible. "I know that madam. " Luo Zu gritted his teeth and replied with a tone of mockery. "What I am trying to say is¡­ this is night time!!!" He then lowered his tone and added. "Beasts like that might be on the prowl." He even made an eye gesture signaling at Qin Hua. Alex opened her mouth, about to respond to him, but Lu Chen responded first. "No one is forcing you to come. You can follow or stay back. It''s totally up to you." He didn''t see any point in trying to explain these things over and over again. If people still hadn''t realized what was happening around them even now, then they probably wouldn''t last in this world anyways. "Mister Lu Chen, I am really not trying to be disrespectful here. I am only trying to help and offer my opinion. At times like these, taking into account everyone''s perspective might be more useful than you think." Luo Zu put on a dignified pose and then prepared to talk in length. He was sure that he had the ability to convince and win over these bunch of younglings. However, before he could say anything a loud bark interrupted him and a pitch-black husky was staring directly at him. It looked more like a feral demon wolf than a dog this time around. [Woof! Shut your trap and stop yapping!] Luo Zu instantly closed his mouth shut tightly and looked down at his dagger, sweating profusely. He could try reasoning with humans, but what could he possibly say to this monstrosity??? He also didn''t have the guts to stay back so he could only silently cry inside. It looked like they were going out to hunt in the night after all. Everyone packed up their things, and they wore bulging backpacks of different shapes and sizes. "Umm¡­ Should we take turns and carry Su Yan?" Alex suggested as she as well walked over to stand next to Lu Chen. Carrying an unconscious person around was going to be extremely cumbersome and not to mention dangerous, especially considering that they might have to face deadly threats at every corner. But they also couldn''t just leave him by himself. "I think that might be our only option." Lu Chen rubbed his chin in deep thought staring at his friend. He then turned around to ask the newcomers. "Can you guys lift him? You all absorbed a few mana cores from the zombies earlier right? You should be strong enough?" Ah¡­ Umm¡­ ¡­ All of them hesitated and looked at each other, no one willing to open their mouth. Lu Chen sighed and further added. "I will personally protect anyone who does this." His eyes scanned the people in front of him and clearly, no of them were still eager to accept the role. He also didn''t want to shove it on someone forcefully as that might do more harm than good. But while he was still mulling over this problem, Qin Hua quickly summoned out her shadow clone and her original body gripped Su Yan by his shirt, quickly tossing it on the back of her clone. Though her size was much smaller compared to what she was before, there was no issue in her shadow clone being a mount to Su Yan. Besides, as an added bonus, she got to continuously use the skill and work towards leveling it. "Ah!" Lu Chen was shocked. He looked at the ferocious dog again, his face breaking into a warm smile. At this point, there was no doubt that she was single-handedly carrying the whole team and on top of that, she also took care of all these miscellaneous things. He sighed and squatted next to her, bumping his forehead with her head which was now only slightly bigger than his. "What am I going to do without you¡­" Qin Hua snuck out of his grasp and quickly ran outside as she barked. She was already maxed out on her quota of embarrassment for the day! No more! Acting as a horsie for someone? How shameful! Woof! Woof! Lu Chen chuckled and bent down to properly adjust Su Yan''s position. He made sure that his friend was seated safely on the weird black projection. He did not know what it was. The weird thing was somehow tangible but also intangible at the same time. Its appearance was also extremely similar to Qin Hua so he had a few theories as to what it could possibly be. But at the end of the day, he trusted her judgment so he didn''t think about it too much. The group then walked out with Qin Hua leading them at the front. They had hardly taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped. "What? What? Zombies?" One of the two women panicked and asked. Qin Hua shook her head. It seemed like none of them had heard it, but she had heard it! A small meowing sound at a distance! She cast a sideways glance at Xu Meilin whose face was unnaturally sad and wilted like a flower. She then sighed. [Fine. Fine. I will go get that damned cat. I owe it one anyways.] She barked and then quickly jumped into a nearby shadow which was not difficult to find as it was night time and everything was dark except for the light from a few street lamps. And while everyone was still wondering where she had gone, she returned back with the same lightning speed. But this time she had a cat gripped softly in her mouth. Meow! She dropped the tabby at Xu Meilin''s feet not bothering to be gentle with it and then quickly turned around, pretending to not hear the muffled cries and joyous reunion. The newly joined members were extremely puzzled, but Lu Chen and Alex had wide smiles on their faces. It turns out that the ferocious demon dog was a big softy on the inside! Chapter 63: Treasure hunt Part1 Meow. Meow. Meow. The fat tabby cat circled around Qin Hua, even running back and forth, sneaking out from under her at times. Meow. Meow. Meow. It curiously peeked at her from all angles, while she exercised her self-control and gnashed her canines, stopping herself from kicking the thing away like a football. Why did this guy not go crazy like the other beasts? She didn''t understand. [Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Let me ignore the cat bastard and focus on my super nose.] She tilted her head slightly back. Sniff! Sniff! Sniff! They had been walking for about ten minutes now, going all the way from one end of the street to the other, but they hadn''t yet spotted a single zombie or a goblin or any other weird creature. The street, as well, was a lot more quieter, as if everything alive had holed up somewhere deep inside for the night. The air around them was eerie and the unnatural silence was ominous. Only the cat''s low meowing sounded clearly. "Hey¡­ girl¡­ get your cat to shut up." Luo Zu tapped Xu Meilin, who gave him a sleepy smile and nodded, pulling the tabby cat back into her arms. Everyone had been extremely nervous and cautious at the beginning but now after seeing the empty street, they became a lot more relaxed. However, this also made them more sleepy and tired. "Lu Chen" Guan Ye suddenly called out, breaking the silence. "I think we should head to the nearby supermarket and gather some supplies. We need more food for the coming days." "And the streets are empty. So this might be the best time to do it." "I also agree." Lu Chen quickly nodded. What they had assumed, indeed turned out to be correct. Since there was no plague like infection spreading and wounds and cuts didn''t mean instant death, the presence of the mana zombies was in reality not that threatening. Of course, they were only able to think like this because Qin Hua had risked her life and fought on their behalf massacring a shit ton of zombies. "There should be a super market in the mall a couple of streets over. Let''s start with that store?" Lu Chen suggested and everyone silently agreed. The group then cautiously started walking towards the mall. This time they encountered a couple of zombie stragglers and Alex took the initiative to kill them off, taking their mana cores as well. After seeing how easily she handled them, the other people as well started taking more initiative. No one wanted to lag behind too much and miss out on the low hanging fruits. The dagger which Qin Hua had given them was very effective and made the fighting a lot easier. They cleared about 20 zombies on the way without even breaking a sweat and finally reached the mall''s parking lot. This place as well seemed to be just as deserted as the streets, except for the dozens of cars parked side by side. There were also a few trucks, mini vans and bigger vans. "We should check if one of these is working and we can store all the food supplies inside." Alex muttered. "Yes. Yes. We cannot keep walking endlessly like this." Luo Zu added, even though he himself was lean and considerably fit. Walking this much shouldn''t really matter to him. [Lazy bum!] Qin Hua scoffed at him. In her mind, she had already labeled this guy as Nan Zhong number 2 and kept tabs on him at all times without fail. While the group continued discussing their options and surveilling the surroundings to check if there were any zombies or weird monsters in the area, she started doing her own thing. She was sniffing the air like there was no tomorrow. Before they had stepped into the parking lot, she didn''t feel anything, but now that they had, Qin Hua felt a faint but distinct smell of something. She slipped into the shadows scattered around and ran here and there, trying to figure out if this was the scent of mana and if so what was giving off such a strong scent. After a few twists and turns, the scent trail eventually led her straight into the mall. The smell had also become comparatively stronger. It was a fruity smell that she couldn''t associate it with any of the fruits she knew. Qin Hua lowered her speed, now proceeding more cautiously as she entered the mall. It was dark inside with none of the lights on, and that strangely made her feel very comfortable. She could see perfectly fine and moved around with ease. Sniff! Sniff! Sniff! She once again sniffed the air in the mall and this time the smell was distinctly coming in from one of the shops on the higher floors. [Woof! Woof! I am coming for you] She excitedly smacked her lips and ran at full speed towards the source of the smell. Qin Hua was this excited because of a certain expectation she had. Earlier, she had tried sniffing out the zombies but their body odor over powered the mana scent so much and she wasn''t able to isolate the two. But this time, she knew that the specific smell was not coming from a zombie. So what else could possibly contain mana? [It has to be a mana core! There should be heaps and heaps of mana cores nearby! I am coming for you my babies. Woof! Woof!] Each and every mana core was extremely valuable and that was, without doubt, the quickest way to become stronger. So she ran towards the smell at full speed, with high anticipations of cheating her way to the top. She had to run back and forth a couple of floors but it didn''t take her long to isolate the source and within seconds, she was standing in front of a peculiar shop and staring at it with her eyes wide open. [What the hell? Woof!] Chapter 64: Treasure hunt Part2 "This door is already broken?" Alex exclaimed. Lu Chen pushed the doors of the supermarket open and the group quietly walked in. "Somebody has definitely been here before us." The various shelves of the supermarket were neatly stacked with miscellaneous items. There were no signs of struggle and the store had not been ransacked or anything like that. This made sense because right now most people were probably too scared to even come out, but the weird part was that half of the supplies were missing. That too they had been taken out in a very neat and orderly fashion. "Hmm¡­ this is really interesting. They seem to have only taken out half of the goods and left the other half of everything." Guan Ye observed the same thing and muttered to Lu Chen as he picked a can of tuna in his hand. "Are we also doing that?" "Hell no." Luo Zu took the initiative to answer, but Lu Chen and Alex as well nodded in agreement. "There is no point. These supplies won''t last for long. Let''s start loading. Give more importance to fresh water and edible processed food which doesn''t require further cooking." Lu Chen lifted five heavy wooden crates single-handedly and started walking towards the two trucks they had prepared. They had also siphoned out enough fuel from other vehicles and made other adequate preparations for the trucks to last as their primary mode of transport for at least a couple of weeks. It almost seemed ridiculous to be loading such huge amounts of food but ultimately that was the key to survival irrespective of what else was happening around them. Without food, they would no longer have the strength to fight against whatever was going to come at them. While everyone silently continued to load the trucks, Lu Chen and Qin Hua''s clone now standing guard near the vehicles, the original Qin Hua was busily ransacking a certain another store in the mall. In fact, she didn''t just rob the single store but she also used her [Mana Sniff] to identity other stores with similar mana densities and was busily looting everything that she could find. [Woof! Two more floors to go!] Qin Hua summoned the inventory space and then took out the small pouch from within and took a look inside the pouch. The space which only contained dagger and loincloth up until now was suddenly sparkling and dazzling. There was a small heap of jewelry within the storage pouch. More specifically, all the pieces of jewelry seemed to be studded with ruby stones and amethyst stones. She didn''t know why but these two stones alone had weirdly high concentrated mana swirling around them. It was not that she could see the density or the amount of mana, rather it was a feeling. All the jewelry that contained these two specific stones had the strong scent of mana. To test things out, Qin Hua cast a couple of Chaos Balls and sent them flying towards one of the other shops. The black balls of energy struck the wall explosively, completely destroying that store and even parts of the neighboring stores. At the same time, the spells had also drained her mana reserves completely which was what she wanted. Qin Hua now clutched a couple of ruby studded engagement rings, hooking them in her paw. And almost immediately¡­ she felt a sudden jolt of energy in her body as if she had downed a can of red bull. [Ba ha ha ha! This is awesome! With this I can cast a lot of spells without worrying about mana consumption!] As far as she could understand, just like how the human beings had mutated, beasts had mutated, it looked like some of the minerals and rare gemstones had also developed new properties. Or perhaps these properties were existent all along and were only now being revealed because mana only now became available on Earth. After confirming her suspicions and usefulness of these gemstones, Qin Hua robbed clean each and every single store in the mall that sold jewelry. She then sniffed the air some more to see if she could detect any other abnormal materials but unfortunately, nothing else was out of place. [Woof. Time to go back.] She contemplated instantly switching places with the clone but just to do another smell check, she ended up running all the way to the entrance of the mall where others were busily loading the truck. "Little white! There you are!" Lu Chen smiled and waved at her as soon as she appeared at the set of stairs. "Where did you go?" She was too lazy to signal and communicate right now so she simply shook her head and strutted over to him, letting out a lazy yawn. She then casually laid on the ground next to him. Qiang who was carrying a couple of crates over to the truck immediately poked Luo Zu and muttered to him. "Brother Luo, that dog is back." Taking one look at Qin Hua who was lazily rolling around, the man instantly became furious. "Look at that bitch sitting over there leisurely, when we are out here working our asses off in the middle of the motherfucking night!" "Didn''t you see how she was fighting against those thugs? If she wanted, she could have easily finished loading the trucks in a few minutes." "Why should we suffer like this unjustly? Fuck. My entire shirt is drenched with sweat and is itching." Just as the two men were grumbling quietly amongst themselves, the dog suddenly looked in their direction and snapped its canines making the both of them shiver involuntarily. "Brother Luo¡­ I am¡­ I am scared. Did it hear us?" Qiang worriedly asked. "Ahem. No. No. No way that''s possible. We are whispering quietly and we are standing all the way over here. How could it be?" Luo Zu chuckled awkwardly. "Ahem. Let''s just finish loading the truck. There are only a couple more crates left." Chapter 65: New skill Qin Hua lazily looked at the two men gossiping about her as if she was looking at a couple of idiots. [Of course, I can hear you! Woof!] The weird part was that they didn''t seem to hate Lu Chen or Guan Ye or Alex or even Xu Meilin. In fact, they looked at Lu Chen and Guan Ye with awe and admiration. But when it came to her, they all seemed to have a problem. Qin Hua didn''t take their aversion to her personally. Perhaps they simply couldn''t bring themselves to trust a beast. Irrespectively, their attitude towards her was not her concern. As long as they don''t hinder her or her friends or do anything to betray them, she couldn''t care less what these leeches did. Woof! Woof! She narrowed her eyes and gave them another glare before returning to the work at hand. Qin Hua took the small pouch out of her inventory and then emptied its contents on the ground in front of her. The tar road was suddenly dazzling with a small heap of jewelry on top of it. Both Lu Chen and the Qiang - Luo Zu pair stared at the dog in puzzlement. A dog playing with jewelry? Could this beast get any weirder?? Where did it even get all this jewelry from? Qin Hua, however, was completely engrossed in her own thoughts. She looked at all the small dots of rubies stuck in the different flimsy chains and bracelets. They were not too useful in this form, but she had a vague idea of how to make them more interesting. Qin Hua piled all the rings together, which had the bigger pieces of gems, and then used her toenails to pop out the red rubies and purple amethyst gems, placing all the extracted gems carefully in a white hand towel. [Hmm¡­ Wait. I should first inspect these.] ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Even though the notifications were the same, Qin Hua still inspected each and every gem meticulously. After dealing with the last of the rings, she then moved on to other jewelry like earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. In this jewelry, the gems were so small that it was impossible to take them out of the gold and platinum encasing, at least with her giant meaty paws. So with these jewelry pieces, she broke the chain links that had the gem embedded within and tossed out the rest. With her strength, this didn''t take her long and soon she had a much cleaner pile of mostly gems with some bits and pieces of metal sticking to it. Having observed her for a while, Lu Chen and the others became even more curious. By now, about half of them had slacked off in loading the truck and were simply looking at her, wondering what she was up to now. At one point, Xu Meilin had coincidentally seen something that she really liked and had walked over to Qin Hua. "Eh? This bracelet looks really good, little white." She rubbed Qin Hua''s head and was about to lean over and take the bracelet just to look at it but her hand was swiftly swatted away without mercy and with a loud bark. [Woof! That''s mine!] So the others didn''t dare come close to her and disturb her and only observed her from the sidelines. After pooling the bunch of extracted gems together, Qin Hua then proceeded to take out two lockets and a bottle of industrial-grade adhesive from the pouch, which she had also ransacked from the same jewelry shop. She clicked open both the lockets carefully with her paw nail and poured a good amount of glue into them. She then separated the small pile of minuscule gems into two groups and lined the inside of the lockets, one pile for each locket. This part was a bit difficult for her with her huge paws so Lu Chen quickly squatted next to her to help her out even though he had no idea what she was up to. "Is this alright, little white?" Lu Chen asked. With his help, the work was completed a lot faster. Qin Hua bobbed her head up and down, grinning in satisfaction. She then closed the lockets tightly shut, with the adhesive holding everything together. [Woof! Woof! Perfect. Time to check the reward for my hard work!] [Inspect] [Huh?] Qin Hua''s ears perked up and she inspected the necklace again. [Ho! Ho! Ho! I can finally see the details of the items?] Qin Hua smacked her lips and inspected the other chain and locket as well. Since both were basically the same items that she prepared in the same manner, she wasn''t too surprised about the similar notification which popped up the second time. She carefully hooked both the chains in her hand, the lockets dangling underneath, and looked at them with her eyes twinkling. This was just too good! Her current net mana was about 25 and if she wore the two lockets together, her mana would almost fully be recovered in a second! Did that mean her makeshift locket was perhaps even better than the daggers she looted from the goblins? Licking her lips she quickly took out a couple of daggers from her inventory to inspect them, when unexpectedly another notification popped up. Qin Hua almost drooled looking at the skill description. If she can make better weapons and armor items then their hunting would be a lot faster and safer. Chapter 66: A dog with a fancy collar Qin Hua had a huge shit-eating grin on her face as she glanced at the two lockets on her paw again. She blinked at Lu Chen who was standing by her and then pointed her other paw to her neck, signaling for him to help her wear the chain with the locket around her neck. "Aha ha ha. Ok, leave it to me." He had no idea what was happening but it was not like he could ask her for any explanations. So he just chuckled and silently complied with the request. He tightened the clasps properly and soon the two lockets hung snugly, somewhat hidden beneath the thick fur of her neck. [He he] Qin Hua giggled happily and admired her handiwork by fiddling with them using her paws. As opposed to her expression, everyone else was completely dumbfounded. Not to mention the half an hour time they had wasted by simply staring at her. They suddenly felt like idiots for expecting too much from a mere dog and quickly went back to doing their respective tasks. Qin Hua as well did not linger around anymore and made her own rounds in the supermarket, putting more things in the goblin''s pouch. Anything she touched disappeared, but no one was shocked anymore. The dog was too weird and too secretive and no one could tell what she was up to at any given instant. So they simply ignored her and relied on their own hard work to fill the truck with necessary goods. A few more minutes passed and almost everyone was dead tired. Lu Chen and Guan Ye picked up the pace and filled the truck with the last of the edible items. The group then sat around the parking lot to rest for a bit longer, enjoying some snacks and ice cream sticks and introducing themselves to each other. Qin Hua, on the other hand, was busily inspecting all the daggers. Since her skill had now upgraded she could see a lot more details compared to before. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Qin Hua glanced at the various details curiously. It looked like different daggers had different capabilities and she wondered if this was because of the specific materials they were made from. She took out a better dagger replacing the one Lu Chen had placed by his side and tossed everything back into the pouch again. She then hesitated for a moment before taking out a small piece of white cloth from the pouch. [Inspect] She muttered half-heartedly and the next instant her eyes unexpectedly widened. [Ehhh? Magic defense? Physical defense? A stupid goblin''s underwear has such good stats?] [Wait, why is the durability only 2 out of 5? Does this mean this cloth was already used? Eww!] She then quickly turned around to inspect Lu Chen''s and Guan Ye''s t-shirts, but they were only ordinary clothes and there was nothing special about them. Even their durability was only 1! As if she couldn''t believe what she was seeing, her sharp green and blue eyes darted back and forth between the loincloth and the t-shirt and a repulsive idea floated into her mind. Technically, if she wanted she could fashion a t-shirt from these loincloths just like she had done with the rubies? Qin Hua shook her head quickly wanting to drop that thought quickly but she looked at her clone which was still carrying the unconscious guy. [Beggars can''t be choosers. We should use every damn thing we have!] She sighed and stood up to stroll towards the four women who were sitting next to each other and chatting. She took out all the loincloths from the inventory, making a heap in front of them and she also took out a sewing kit that she had taken from the supermarket. She then threw a t-shirt next to the heap and used her paw to point back and forth between the t-shirt and the loincloths. She was so sure that her signal was easily understandable but yet for some reason, the women stared back at her blankly. No one else as well said anything, and after a couple of seconds, she understood why. They did get the message she was trying to convey but none of them knew how to stitch. Finally, Qiang, the person who was gossiping with Luo Zu earlier spoke up. "Ummm¡­ Miss Little White¡­ I mean boss Little White, this¡­ do you want us to make a t-shirt from the cloth?" Qin Hua quickly bobbed her head up and down and Qiang smiled awkwardly. "I know a little bit of stitching, but I am not sure how it will turn out. Aha ha ha. I have only stitched buttons before. Do you still want me to try? Ummm¡­ Boss?" Qin Hua immediately moved the pile towards him with her paw and once again bobbed her head up and down. She didn''t care how it looked. Anything remotely resembling a t-shirt or even a shawl or a towel that could be worn around the waist or as a cloak would be fine. "Alright. I will do my best¡­ boss." Qiang quickly got to work. The others looked at him in awe. Who even knew how to sew in this day and age?! But they also couldn''t understand what the doggo was trying to do, first with the jewels and now with this set of handkerchiefs or at least that''s what they thought the loincloths were. "Little white, what is this? Why do you want to stitch these things together?" Lu Chen asked her curiously. The weather had indeed been a little unpredictable lately, but ever since people started turning into zombies, it had turned back to neutral weather, neither too hot nor too cold. So she couldn''t possibly want these things to be stitched together for the purpose of clothing. "Are these clothes somehow special?" Chapter 67: The doggo jewel thief Qin Hua bobbed her head up and down to Lu Chen but she didn''t try to explain anything beyond that. It was simply too difficult and she had other things to take care of before they left this area. She dove into a nearby shadow and ran into the mall again. Now that her Inspect skill was upgraded, she wanted to take another trip around and see if she could find anything else valuable. The supermarket was already emptied out. She went to the cloth store and saw that none of the clothes had any special attributes. Now only the jewelry store was left. Though she had already visited this, she didn''t inspect the items properly last time around. So she decided to take one last lap to check out the jewelry store before turning back. She didn''t expect to find anything there as well because she didn''t smell anything out of ordinary, but to her surprise that was not the case. [What the¡­] Qin Hua was completely dumbfounded. It looked like every gem had some sort of special property. And since these were not exactly related to mana density, she hadn''t been able to sniff them out. [Phew! Good thing I decided to check it out, otherwise I would have missed everything. Woof!] Qin Hua looked around in a daze and started pocketing everything she could find, this time not even leaving a single piece of jewelry behind. The precious minerals had hidden properties, the animals had mutated, humans had evolved, so were soil and water now also different? What about the plants? She decided to inspect more things after heading out to gain a better understanding of everything. The world that they knew of had changed completely and the new world needed to be analyzed all over again from top to bottom. Just as she was about to leave the store after wiping it clean, Qin Hua suddenly heard a faint buzzing noise near her. A very bad feeling enveloped her and not knowing what was happening, she dove into a nearby shadow immediately. Even she was surprised at her own reaction speed because she had done it as if she was born with this ability. Was it because she was now extremely fluent with the skill after having moved through the shadows so many times? Or was it because her affinity with the darkness had increased? Qin Hua did not have time to think about this and she quickly peeked here and there to see what the buzzing noise was about. A couple of seconds later, she sighed in relief after seeing that it was only a small mosquito. It didn''t look like it had mutated as it was still the normal size and hadn''t fattened up or developed horns or something like that. Qin Hua wouldn''t even have noticed it if not for the fact that she had heightened senses and perception. [Heh! This small bugger managed to scare me so much?! What a shame! Woof. Woof] She shook her head and was just about to step out of the shadow when she coincidentally decided to inspect the mosquito on a whim for leveling her Inspect skill further. [Huh? Ehhh? Since when were mosquitoes poisonous? What the heck is with this description?] Qin Hua''s black furry body stopped halfway and then ducked back into the shadows hiding for her life. She was wrong! This guy had indeed mutated, just not the way she had expected it to! She also had no idea about the potency of its poison but she didn''t want to test it out on her own body. In reality, irrespective of the potency of this poison, she was sure that the magic system''s health potions would be able to take care of it, but there was a problem with that logic. The damned health potions were insanely expensive! Qin Hua eyed the little guy cautiously, following the mosquito''s movements as it buzzed around here and there, probably searching for her. And when it was at the right angle, she leaped out of the shadow she was hiding in and then swiped the little mosquito without holding back. This guy had to be one-shotted! There was o doubt about it! And thankfully, nothing else about the mosquito was noteworthy and the chap fell down limp not even able to withstand the single hit. <500 Experience points have been rewarded> [Oh! That''s a lot of experience points! He he he. Though too bad only one mosquito is there!] Qin Hua ignored the mosquito''s corpse as there wasn''t much meat in a mosquito to begin with and it was also poisonous. She then quickly ran to the third floor and the fourth floor of the mall and emptied out all the jewelry stores. She even emptied out a luxury watch store, taking all the gem-studded watches with her. After that, there was nothing else in the mall that caught her interest, so she returned back to the group. Everyone was still resting as it had only been a few minutes since she had left. And surprisingly, Qiang had already stitched the first shirt that sort of looked like a crop top. It was not like he knew the dimensions of the dog. So he made it sleeveless and loose-fitting. Qin Hua looked at it with satisfaction. It seemed like the guy was quite adept with his stitching technique. [Inspect. Woof!] [Oh! So the effects improved after stitching a bunch of these together? Not bad. Woof.] Chapter 68: New team jersey An hour later¡­ A group of people were stretching out their limbs in the parking lot of a mall. But weirdly, they all seemed to be wearing a short white sleeveless shirt as if they were sports players and this was their uniform. Alex straightened out her shirt after inspecting it from top to bottom but something was bothering her. "What is that weird smell? Is it just me or is there a faint pee smell coming from this shirt?" "Huh? Mine looks fine?" Xu Meilin looked at hers and muttered, but she also did not seem completely convinced. Qin Hua quickly turned around, coughing awkwardly as only she knew the truth. [Woof. Whatever. They should just be grateful to me for being so generous!] Before she could finish the thought, there was another buzzing sound coming from a distance. Qin Hua bolted into a nearby shadow and ran towards the bloodsucker to take care of it without allowing it anywhere near the group. <100 Experience points have been rewarded> [This is already the 5th one I killed. These guys give good experience points but they are rather troublesome to deal with.] [I changed my mind. Woof. I hope more of them don''t show up.] She circled around the group making sure nothing else was prowling in the darkness. Meanwhile, everyone prepared to leave and packed all the belongings in the two trucks. "Where are we even going?" Alex asked worriedly. The streets were still ominously deserted without any sight of police cars or any other human beings. Lu Chen sighed. "I am also not sure. Maybe Jing city has some sort of government shelter?" "Let''s just drive towards the center and then decide what to do based on how everything looks?" Everyone agreed and they started getting into the trucks. Lu Chen, Guan Ye, Alex, and Xu Meilin ended up sticking together as they knew each other better and obviously Qin Hua as well got into the truck after them. But the other group seemed more reluctant and hesitated without getting in. The others were too nervous to speak up so Luo Zu ended up taking the role of the boss once again. "Hey. Hey. Wait a minute. This doesn''t look right." He knocked on the exterior of the truck, calling everyone to get back down. "What happened now?" Lu Chen asked and Qin Hua let out a low threatening growl. Having everyone looking at him, made Luo Zu also nervous. Nevertheless, he was not planning to let this go. "You all cannot leave together in the same truck. Then what if we got separated?" "So what if we got separated?" Lu Chen took a step forward and asked. "Boss. Come on. Don''t be like this. You all are much stronger than we are. Can we not just mix together and leave?" Luo Zu bit his lips and replied. "Did I ask you to not get stronger?" Lu Chen shot back ruthlessly. He did not mind helping these people but in the end, he still prioritized Su Yan and the two girls above these strangers whom they just met. "This¡­ We don''t have abilities as you do¡­ Otherwise¡­" Luo Zu did not complete his sentence but everyone knew what he meant. These people just got lucky so it was not fair for them to act so arrogantly. Lu Chen, however, only chuckled at the man. "Before today, have you given any money or good clothes to a beggar?" "Did you regularly make donations to charity to make sure everyone was taken care of?" "But that was before" Luo Zu opened his mouth but Lu Chen quickly shut him up. "How is that any different? That was money and this is power." "This world has always been the same. You need to be responsible and take care of yourself. No one else is going to do that for you." "Now I suggest that you stop arguing with me and get onto the truck. Drive the vehicle to the best of your abilities and stick close to us." "Otherwise, I wish you good luck." Lu Chen shrugged and got back into the truck. Qin Hua nuzzled her head against his back, giving him her version of a pat in the back. [Woof! That''s how it should be! Take that you leeches!] The others once again got back in and Luo Zu could only dumbfoundedly scratch his head. "What are you all waiting for? Didn''t you hear the man? Go. Get onto the truck. Otherwise, they will leave us here itself." He shouted at the others. The three men Qiang, Luo Zu, and Yuan, and the two women, Ziyali and Caiyang got into the truck one by one. No matter how demeaning Lu Chen''s words were, they still couldn''t afford to be separated from their group, so everyone quickly got on. But¡­ "Does someone know how to drive this fucking thing?" Luo Zu shouted, but no one answered him. There was only dead silence in the truck. "Useless. Absolutely useless. You are all so useless!" He scoffed. "Fine. Fine. I will drive this damn thing myself. Who is going to question me even if I run over something! Hmph!" He pushed the controls brashly and started the engine, the truck suddenly sputtering to life. Parked beside them, Guan Ye smoothly operated the first truck as he had prior experience driving these bigger vehicles. He had driven quite a few trips before as a part of his restaurant job. Soon the two trucks roared loudly and they started moving out of the parking lot onto the main road, with one of the trucks driving in a smooth straight fashion while the other one zig-zagging and barely holding on. However, Luo Zu somehow managed to bring it under control and both the vehicles continued down the empty road. As everyone looked around here and there nervously, trying to spot someone or some sort of help, Qin Hua alone had her eyes glued onto the sky up above. There was a huge cloud at a distance, but weirdly the cloud seemed to be visibly moving¡­ moving at a speed faster than clouds typically did¡­ Chapter 69: Go and get them! The two trucks moved along the road and on their way, they came across different places that seemed to be sites of inhumane massacres. People''s flesh and bones were strewn everywhere while bloodstains and body parts were splattered in the surroundings. "Oh my god! What the hell?" Alex covered her mouth and nose with her hand, unable to bear the pungent smell that tainted the area. Alex, Lu Chen, and Guan Ye were sitting at the front of the truck while Qin Hua and her clone carrying Su Yan, along with Xu Meilin were at the back. It was an open truck so everyone could look outside. As they continued driving looking at the gory sight outside, Guan Ye turned the truck around the corner and onto the next street. Unexpectedly, this street had a giant, gaping black hole in the middle. As soon as he saw it, Lu Chen immediately shouted. "No stop! Let''s turn around." Zombie horde was something that they could manage, but Lu Chen had no idea how they would fare against a goblin horde. What was that damned black hole? Where were these creatures coming from? He was not sure if they were prepared enough to face this. However, just as they were backing out, suddenly three more goblins popped out and as soon as they did, they instantly turned towards their truck, catching the presence of the group. "Too late, stop! Now! We need to fight them." Guan Ye nodded as he also solemnly looked at the thin sickly pale green creatures. With their truck stopping, the truck behind them came to a standstill as well. Everyone curiously peered out to check what was happening. Lu Chen and Guan Ye clutched their daggers and jumped out of the truck. The goblins were running towards them at full speed. The mere sight of them made Alex scared, and she gulped nervously. But she got down as well, clutching her dagger and walking behind Lu Chen and Guan Ye. Keeeee! Keeee! The goblins shrieked in a language that was not understandable and stabbed their daggers towards the approaching human beings. Guan Ye instantly disappeared and when his figure reappeared, he was behind one of the three goblins who were currently trying to gang up on Lu Chen. Lu Chen slashed at the goblin, holding his dagger with his right hand, trying to hold it off, while with his other hand he materialized an ice spear that impaled the creature. The goblin was fast and even managed to get a couple of hits in. But Lu Chen''s body was already enhanced and with the loincloth shirt that he was wearing, the damage became extremely negligible causing the goblin''s attack to barely scratch his skin. The other goblin, being the shrewd creature that it was, saw that the third person, Alex, standing behind these two was actually the weakest and also looked to be more frightened than the others. So it directly jumped, side-stepping Lu Chen, and ran towards her. Alex tried her best to be brave, waving her dagger in front of her. She had fought valiantly when facing the mana zombies and had been quite confident, but now facing against this green creature for the first time, she suddenly felt her knees turning weak. The goblins were also pretty resilient. Unlike the zombies, it was not possible to one-shot them by slashing their throats and killing them instantly, so Guan Ye and Lu Chen were still handling their own goblins and were, unfortunately, unable to run and come to Alex''s aid. The goblin had realized this as well and grinned in arrogance. It jutted its dagger out, aiming for Alex''s heart, her weak vital point. She was completely caught off guard and didn''t even attempt to dodge the attack. Her eyes reddened, and her lips whimpered. She closed her eyes, accepting her death, but before the dagger could touch her... another shout also echoed, along with hers. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a dog viciously biting and mauling the goblin as if it was its chew toy. Alex fell back trembling from head to toe. She had almost died! "Fuck¡­" She saw Qin Hua finishing off the goblin in an instant, even faster than Guan Ye and Lu Chen who had just now finished their respective targets. So strong! So powerful! This was a majestic beast! She couldn''t help but feel an aura of power and strength from the dog, with the drops of black blood on its white crop top. [Woof! Are you alright?] Qin Hua cocked her head to the side and growled which only made Alex scoot back a bit more. [You are still afraid of me?] Shaking her head and drizzling drops of blood everywhere, she went back to the goblin''s corpse and started looting it. Unfortunately, there wasn''t any pouch this time around, but she took the core, absorbing it swiftly. She took the dagger and looking away she also took the loincloth which was the only item of clothing the goblin was wearing. Lu Chen and Guan Ye both were observing her actions and as realization dawned on them, their eyes suddenly widened. This was the shirt they were wearing? Fuckkkkkkk! But they were not fools, they had clearly seen the effectiveness of the makeshift shirt so with bitter smiles they continued to repeat the dog''s actions, and robbed their dead corpses. They as well took both the dagger and the loincloth... They kicked the corpses aside and looked around to see if there were any other goblins but the street now seemed to be deserted. Perhaps if they waited, more would come out of the black gate. "Should we wait here and grind some more mana cores?" Just as they were discussing, Luo Zu and Qiang jumped out of the truck. "You guys finished the fight too fast and you also took the mana cores? This is not fair! We didn''t even get a chance to come out." Luo Zu grunted in displeasure. He looked as if he was really disappointed with the situation. However, before he could even finish his sentence another loud shrieking sound echoed and three more goblins stepped out of the gate. "There, there is your chance. Go and get them!" Lu Chen smirked and crossed his arms. Chapter 70: Closing a black gate Luo Zu started shivering as soon as he saw the green colored creatures pouring out of the black colored hole on the street once again. "Ahh! Ahhh!" He backed away with a stunned look in his eyes. "No, No, don''t come closer!" The goblins once again almost immediately spotted the small group of humans and started running towards them as soon as they stepped out. Lu Chen smirked and stepped aside and Guan Ye did the same, following in his footsteps. Luo Zu was instantly terrified. He even pissed his pants in fear and whimpered. "Boss Lu don''t be so cruel. I was just joking. Please please don''t do this! At least help me a little!" Lu Chen, however, refused to budge, making the guy wail even more loudly and fall onto the ground on his butt. But before the goblin could reach him, three ice spears materialized and impaled its body, sending it to its death. Qin Hua bit off the other one and the last goblin, which was a bit sluggish compared to the other two and was late to the party, was swiftly taken care of by Guan Ye. "You are right, we should stand here and hunt for a while." Lu Chen muttered and Guan Ye nodded. Both of them removed the mana cores from the goblins and wiped the dagger with their fingers, removing the black clotted blood from it. They had a smile on their faces as they could feel themselves becoming stronger. Absorbing the mana cores was a very comfortable and relaxing experience. Qin Hua, standing near them, grinned even wider. She got a level up notification and was in a good mood. She even went to Luo Zu on her own and gave the guy the dagger that she had picked up just now. This was slightly better than the one he had in hand. Luo Zu on the other hand was completely stupefied. He sat on the ground unwilling to even move from the place. Everyone around him was a monster! He had finally calmed down and the wetness on his body made him embarrassed. He couldn''t believe that he had actually pissed his pants in front of these youngsters. Luckily, at least the others hadn''t seen him, which made him sigh in relief. Unfortunately, before this peace and quiet could fully register, sputtering sounds echoed once again and some more goblins popped out. "Alright! Get Xu Meilin also, let''s hunt from some mana cores here for a while. We can get a lot stronger." Lu Chen shouted and everyone busied themselves. The group quickly took their positions and started killing the goblins that kept coming out of the black gate as if they were ants coming out of an anthill. Alex and Xu Meiling teamed up and attacked the goblins together. Qin Hua, Lu Chen, and Guan Ye hunted on their own, while the other group ganged up against the goblin, 1 vs 5, and killed it. They ended up spending about an hour there and harvested quite a good number of mana cores. Each and every one of them had gotten considerably stronger, but it didn''t last long. Just when they were getting comfortable hunting these goblins, the hole suddenly closed and no more green skinned creatures were stepping out of it any longer. "Hmm? That''s it?" Lu Chen rubbed his chin. Three frozen goblin bodies laid under his feet. They waited for a couple more minutes and seeing that nothing else was popping out, they got back into the truck and started moving. The streets were empty again, except for the couple of zombie stragglers which Lu Chen took care of from his driver seat. Since Qin Hua''s speed was the fastest she leaped out of the truck and back into it, not leaving behind the small mana cores. Even though these were almost insignificant for her, the 1 extra stat point was still a stat point. They turned around a couple more streets and then heard some loud shrieks coming from one of the big houses on the right. This was the posh part of the city and all the filthy rich populace lived here. But since hell did not discriminate between the rich and poor, their condition was equally bad as the rest of the streets. Body parts and blood were littered everywhere. As soon as the truck came to a stop about 8 people came rushing towards the two vehicles, crying and begging. "Please! Please! Wait for us." "Don''t leave us here." "Please, police help us!" Lu Chen and Guan Ye stepped down and assessed the crowd and Qin Hua also came along mostly because she was getting bored just sitting inside. From the other truck, Luo Zu had also gotten down. Everyone was staring at them as if they were their saviors and there seemed to be elderly people and children also in the group. They had expected military or police to be in the trucks but seeing a few young men stepping out wearing weird shirts, they couldn''t help but look shocked. "Please brother, can you take us along with you? We don''t know what happened, suddenly everyone started killing each other." "Please brother, I have a lot of money. I will give you all the money." Lu Chen listened to them, deeply contemplating their options. It was not that he didn''t feel pity for these people but taking on these people right now would make things very complicated. Their group size would considerably increase, not to mention become weaker. Their food and necessities would also have to be shared. A bigger group will also attract more attention from the monsters. On the other hand, leaving them behind without helping them right now would only mean death for them. He was not sure if he was ready to do that to the small children and the elders. He also had a family, even though he didn''t know if they were alive or not. So in the end he still couldn''t bring himself to simply abandon these people. He looked at Guan Ye, who also nodded in agreement, and then at Qin Hua who bobbed her head up and down. She didn''t care. "Alright, you all can come with us." Lu Chen smiled and then added after a pause. "Oh! But our boss here, Luo Zu, has to agree!" "What now?" Luo Zu gulped. Chapter 71: Encounter with the Flash "Say what now?" Luo Zu gulped. "That''s our group leader right there. If he agrees, you all can come with us." Lu Chen repeated his words and smiled. Standing next to him, Qin Hua also grinned, revealing all her canines, giving her a wild, crazed look. "Ah, ok. Whatever, whatever, I don''t know. You can come with us." Not knowing what was going on, Luo Zu quickly gave up and blabbered something in response. He had a feeling that in case he said something or refused to accept these people, Lu Chen might just throw him out as well. And he definitely did not want that to happen. So in another five minutes, the two trucks started up once again, driving down the street. This time the first truck contained the same five people while the second truck contained all the new folks, all crowded and sitting together, squished against each other. Luo Zu wanted to cry and complain, but unfortunately, he couldn''t do that as he was the one who had accepted everything in the first place. As if this was not enough, the two middle-aged men who looked like fathers of the two families constantly nagged him and tried to butter him up. At first, it was irritating, but as time went by, he found it quite pleasing. Not to mention there were also a couple of women who brushed up against him trying to curry favors. The others in the truck who knew better could only roll their eyes at these shenanigans. They couldn''t understand why everyone was trying to suck up to this guy. Meanwhile, in the first truck, Guan Ye was seriously discussing with Lu Chen. "Are we heading into the city, or are we finding more of these black gates in the streets?" "No, I think we should just go to the main city for now. We also have these people with us. Let''s see if we can get to some sort of a shelter first." Lu Chen replied. While the two of them were talking, they came across a hospital on the way. There was even a police station opposite the hospital. Lu Chen looked outside and then raised his hand to signal Guan Ye. "Let''s stop here." Police stations typically had some firearms and though during these unstable times that stash might have already been cleared out, it was still worth a check. Alex, Xu Meilin, and Guan Ye got out of the truck to check out the hospital on the other side while Qin Hua casually sauntered behind Lu Chen into the police station. They had barely taken 2 steps in when suddenly a figure dashed past them. Lu Chen immediately swirled the mana at the tips of his fingers ready to materialize it. After having used ice magic so many times already, he was now somewhat comfortable with the overall control. But he still lacked a deeper understanding of what he was doing and that made it painfully difficult for him. Qin Hua also perked up and had already jumped into a nearby shadow. The weird part was the figure that they had sensed was so fast that even she couldn''t detect his presence until it was too late. She couldn''t sense his presence at all, even with her enhanced senses. Such a high speed! High agility! Something told her that this was going to be troublesome. Before they could decide what to do now, there were rustling sounds inside the police station with someone clearly messing around and moving the things in there. This was not a zombie for sure because if this was the zombie, then they would have been the primary targets. Only if it was a human being, they wouldn''t be the primary target, and rather the guns inside the station would be. Qin Hua leaped into a shadow to go inside and check things out. But by then, the other party had already run out after emptying the contents of the room and cleaning out whatever rifle, pistol, and ammo that had been left over. He was zooming here and there incredibly fast. Thankfully, Lu Chen as well reacted fast and covered the entire floor with a thin layer of ice. The person who had zoomed out slipped on the ice and Lu Chen immediately froze his legs, which drained the last bit of his mana completely. However, it was worth it as now they had caught the intruder. Both Lu Chen and Qin Hua panted as they caught up to the guy. "You''re so fast!" Lu Chen exclaimed and Qin Hua followed his remark with a bark that basically implied the same thing. The two confronted him but they did not act violently towards him as he had not attacked them first. Instead, he had gone in to take the firearms without harming them in the process. So they treated him with an equal courtesy giving him the benefit of the doubt. "Brother, do you mind sharing some with us? We have a large group." Lu Chen asked. The tall and lean young man who had fallen on the ground, the ice now almost melting off, smiled bitterly. "We also have a very big group. We desperately need these." As he was about to reply and bargain, Lu Chen suddenly remembered. "Oh did you guys go to the hospital opposite the street as well?" "Huh? Yes? Why?" The man answered. "Shit! Shit! Let''s go, I don''t want us to fight with each other unnecessarily." Qin Hua barked and then she immediately ran over to the hospital to take a look. Both Alex and Xu Meilin were completely surrounded by a bunch of able-bodied men. They seemed like a motley group but from the looks of it, they were not exactly new to combat. The two women looked very frightened and stiff but as soon as they saw Qin Hua they became a bit more confident and even subconsciously sighed in relief. But the same couldn''t be said for the others. The people who had surrounded them did not know that Qin Hua was not crazy. All they saw was a beast and started attacking her immediately. Chapter 72: Shelter [Break! Break! Break!] Qin Hua barked loudly and stopped her body midway, jumping back into the patch of shadow she just leaped out of. And as soon as she did that, a bunch of attacks hit the spot, including a bolt of lightning. Clearly, her presence here was doing more harm than good. [What the heck? Woof! Do I have to fight these people now???] She panted, wondering what to do now, when fortunately Lu Chen and the speed guy walked in, with the speed guy limping his right leg. "What happened brother Che are you alright?" One of the guys shouted and quickly walked over to him. Qin Hua gulped in relief after seeing them and once again stepped out. "AH!!! The beast is here again!" Someone shouted. [Woof! Too soon?] She prepared to leap back in, but luckily, this time Alex and Lu Chen both shouted. "The dog won''t hurt you, don''t attack it, stop! stop!" "Huh?" The men seemed to be confused but nevertheless, they didn''t continue attacking. The speed guy, Bing Che also nodded his head, so everyone calmed down a bit. "These guys also have a few survivors with them. Man, let''s just all go back to the shelter." Someone else said."What about the food? We are already short on edible items as it is. Anyone extra is going to be... Ummm, a bit difficult?" "Ummm... That is true." Bing Che also hesitated. "Don''t worry, don''t worry about that, We have enough food with us." Lu Chen explained to them. Taking these many people with them and going around everywhere, especially in dangerous places like near the black gates, were not logically and rationally the best possible option. He didn''t mind parting with some of the food they had gathered as long as everyone could stay somewhere safe and wait for help to arrive if any such thing was ever going to happen. After coming to some sort of understanding, the group then wandered around the hospital together and collected all the supplies. Neither of them wanted to stand around and talk any longer. After the hospital was cleanly swept, everyone then walked out. Bing Che and his group finally saw the two trucks. Luo Zu and the others were still sitting in the truck not wanting to step out but after they saw the big group of people walking out, they immediately got down. Lu Chen briefly explained to everyone what had happened. "Oh, so there is a shelter?" Luo Zu excitedly punched his fist into his palm. He had had enough of the dog and the kids'' attitude. He didn''t want to be with them but there wasn''t any other option earlier. But now¡­! There was a shelter¡­! Ha Ha Ha! My freedom is finally here! Luo Zu rejoiced inwardly. "What are we waiting for? Let''s all go then!" "You heard the boss." Lu Chen smiled and everyone got back into the truck. Bing Che and the new group got into the minivan that was parked on the next street. Qin Hua meanwhile, peeped out to take another look at the sky. Weirdly, the huge cloud had disappeared. [Hmm, maybe I was just imagining things.] She smacked her mouth, licked her lips, and rested her head on the truck''s cold metal surface. [Shelter, huh? That''s good, that''s good. We can unload these leeches and maybe I can also go hunting alone.] She felt like she needed far less rest than the others. In other words, every time she absorbed a mana core, the fatigue was cleansed. Mental fatigue still built up, but maybe because of her former life memories, she felt like her mental strength was higher compared to others. Thinking about the various things, she laid still, enjoying Lu Chen''s back rubs as the two trucks followed the minivan to what looked like a huge stadium building. The baseball stadium had an even bigger indoor auditorium, practice spaces, locker rooms, and even hotel facilities and there were also several compound walls and thick grilled gates making the building somewhat secure. Of course, nothing could be completely safe as the new beasts and zombies had monstrous strength. This could at most only serve as temporary shelter, but that in itself was a big deal to some of these people who had been extremely traumatized. After parking all the vehicles Lu Chen and the group quickly walked in to survey the surroundings first. They already had a very bad experience, so they wanted to be extremely cautious and first make sure that this is indeed safe. They didn''t want to walk into a second situation where everyone was being mind-controlled. They looked around for a bit, spoke to the survivors, but nobody looked suspicious and from the interactions they had so far, they seemed to be just another group of people like them, only barely hanging on. In fact, it looked like many hadn''t even absorbed any mana cores yet. On her side, Qin Hua also finished inspecting and did not find anything suspicious. So after a few minutes, everyone got in slowly and started talking amongst themselves. Of course, there were a few screams and shrieks after seeing the dog but once that was resolved, everyone happily chatted again. Bing Che and the group that had scouted the hospital and police station, gathered near Lu Chen, Qin Hua, Guan Ye, Alex, and the two teams started discussing the important details. At the other end, a part of the big group, including women, helped unload everything from the truck and quickly helped the newcomers settle down. Everything progressed smoothly. They had even set up beds, tables, chairs, etc and people walked around the perimeter to make sure nothing was roaming around and prowling in wait. There were quite a few people monitoring the surroundings and Qin Hua nodded contently at this arrangement. This kind of setup was not bad at all. Her clone walked over and placed Su Yan''s body gently on one of the beds when a loud woman nearby reminded her. "Beds are only for the elderly!" Qin Hua''s good mood immediately turned sour and she turned around to give a look. The woman quickly backed away. Chapter 73: Cat burglar Qin Hua''s mood turned sour and she glared at the woman making her instantly back away. She then snapped her canines and walked away. Putting a little fear in others so that they wouldn''t come near Su Yan was good but she didn''t want to terrify them too much and make them hostile. This kind of shelter wasn''t bad and she hoped that this could last a while so everyone can gather their bearings and hopefully Su Yan can also fully recover in the safety of the shelter. She wandered over to Xu Meilin who was busily unpacking one of the boxes from the truck and barked at her. "Umm¡­ little white¡­ you want something?" The girl hesitantly asked. Qin Hua bobbed her head up and down and then signaled her to walk to Su Yan. When the two of them reached near Su Yan she then signaled her to sit down next to him. "Ah. you want me to take care of him?" Xu Meilin now understood. The dog once again bobbed her head up and down and Xu Meilin smiled and patted her chest. "Leave it to me. I will take care of bro Su Yan properly. Are you going out somewhere?" Qin Hua shook her head and then walked away. Not that she didn''t want to have a long chat with Xu Meilin. Rather she wanted to head out and stand guard outside as there was still an uneasy feeling in her chest. Instead of calling over Xu Meilin, she could have simply used her clone once again, but she didn''t feel comfortable completely revealing all her abilities in front of these strangers. The night had already passed and the first rays of the morning sunlight were starting to emerge. Qin Hua walked over to sit beside Lu Chen, Guan Ye, and the other group of people who were still discussing their experiences and the possibility of the military being able to sort everything out. She had no intention of participating in that conversation. She comfortably settled on the ground and then took out a few roasted pieces of the mutated rat meat. [hmmm!~ my stash is almost over? Not good.] Qin Hua sadly looked at the last few pieces of meat and pondered going out to hunt for some mutated beasts. Not only was the meat of these animals extremely delicious, but it was also the best when it came to refilling stamina and mana. So it was good to always keep these in reserve. As she bit and chewed on the last few pieces, an unwelcomed intruder wandered over and sat next to her, probably because she had just now been talking to Xu Meilin. Meow. Meow. The tabby cat lazily rolled, daring to put its head on her thick luscious fur, and looked at her innocently. Woof! Qin Hua growled angrily. [What is it, you leech? Who are you putting this show for?] Meow. Meow. The cat cocked its head and looked at her with an even more adorable expression if that was even possible. Woof! [Take your show somewhere else, you drama queen!] Meow? Qin Hua turned her head to ignore the damn thing and took another bite when she realized what the cunning cat bastard was after from the beginning. [Heh? You want my meat?] Meow? [Ba ha ha ha! Ba ha ha ha! Dream on. This is all mine. You can''t lay your leech fingers on even a single piece.] Meow Meow? [No way. No way. You are getting these.] Meow Meow? [It''s all mine. Damn it. I stole them.] Meow Meow? [Fine. Fine. I give up. Here take it.] Qin Hua sighed and threw a few pieces of the roasted meat to the cat. The tabby who was so innocently rolling around on her all this time immediately pounced on those pieces like a shark and gulped them all down. For some reason, Qin Hua felt like it even had a smug grin on its small face after licking its lips contently. [Damn it! I got swindled!] The two of them laid side by side with their stomachs full, one lazily snoring, while the other vigilantly keeping a watch. Qin Hua repeatedly scanned her 180 vision, making use of her enhanced senses to see if something was approaching them. Ever so often she also looked up at the sky as that was freaking her out even more. The black cloud was coming towards them faster and faster. In another hour or so, it might even come right above their city. Was there going to be another acid rain? She had no idea but she kept an eye on it in case something ridiculous happened. The others, however, were considerably more relaxed. Some were eating. Some were sleeping. Those who were not able to sleep were sitting together and chatting and sharing their experiences. One of the group members Mo Ling was an ex-military citizen who had quit his job to look after his elderly parents and younger brother. He knew how to operate and handle firearms and took charge of that job. He assembled all the firearms and then stacked everything ready to use. He was even training everyone each at a time on how to use guns, aim properly and prepare the body for the recoil. Of course, not everyone was being quite so serious. Luo Zu casually strolled in front of Qin Hua with a woman by his side. He was holding her by her waist, whispering something in her ears and making her giggle. Qin Hua was speechless. She looked at him and sighed, turning her head in another direction, not wanting to stare at the ugly any longer. The guy, however, did not get the message and kept circling around her purposefully. He was even showing off to the woman, by speaking to her in English. "See this is our beast. If anything comes this bitch will take care of it immediately. If I say catch she will catch and if I say jump, she will jump. I trained her personally." He spouted all sorts of nonsense to his heart''s content, but he kept a very sweet smiling face when he did so. He thought that as long as he said whatever he wanted while smiling, the dog would probably not notice. It might understand Chinese but it was not like the dog can understand English also! So he was quite confident and continued spouting nonsense for a good while. However, little did he know that he had badly miscalculated. In order to impress her family, Qin Hua had learned several languages and English was one of them. She was very fluent in both writing and speaking though she could do neither at the moment. Qin Hua tried not to pay attention to the joker for a while and let him have his day, but the man didn''t seem to have any intentions of stopping. In the end, her patience only lasted for a minute, and then she leisurely lifted her paw, revealing her shiny sharp claws. Her canines also jutted out, glinting in the sunlight. Luo Zu instantly trembled and he even began to have a doubt if the damned dog could understand what he was saying. But it was not worth taking the risk, so he quickly decided to take the woman somewhere else. "Ahem. Ahem. Maybe we should just go inside." The woman coyly smiled and the two of them started walking back inside when suddenly a tremor swept past the ground. Qin Hua immediately stood up on all her fours, alert and vigilant. Something was not right. She looked at the clouds but they were still far away. Her sharp blue and green eyes darted left to right and then right to left but she couldn''t pick up anything at all. The stadium was calm and quiet just like it had been for the last few hours. So what was that disturbance? Maybe a small earthquake? Others including Lu Chen had also run out to take a look. The number of men patrolling increased but they were still not efficient as Qin Hua with her enhanced senses. The surrounding trees and the plants had also grown abnormally in the past couple of days, even the lawn grass growing several feet tall. It was beginning to look like a jungle everywhere, which also severely limited the visibility. A few more minutes passed with everyone being on high alert and on the lookout but nothing else was out of place. "Do you think it was nothing?" Lu Chen walked over and asked Qin Hua. She reluctantly shook her head. Lu Chen was about to ask her something else when she suddenly froze and almost immediately another tremor shook the grounds, this time the effect was much bigger. The ground groaned and quaked and without any warning started cracking. "Ahhh!" "What is happening??!" "Save me!" Not even knowing what was going on some of the crowd started panicking and running here and there. Chapter 74: Clash with the titans The many civilians sitting inside the stadium also panicked and rushed out, wondering what was happening. They were worried that the building might collapse over them and bury them alive. However, the sight that was waiting for them outside did not make them feel any better. Their bodies were trembling and their vision shook as they saw what was going on around them. Lu Chen, Guan Ye, and Alex quickly moved near Qin Hua and Xu Meilin had also tossed Su Yan over her shoulders and walked towards them not knowing where else to go or if there was even any safe place left. The land underneath them had given up. Four big cracks emerged and the next instant, the earth split apart through these four tremor lines. From these, bigger cracks formed which turned into four giant gaping holes. The four holes were positioned as if they were four corners of a square, enclosing everyone on the inside. Everyone shuddered at the sight of these huge holes. They looked warily at these pits on the ground, full expecting terrible things to jump out from it; as if they were going to spit out hot lava or something even worse. A couple of men holding rifles starting shooting at the holes subconsciously. Qin Hua panted. Her heart was pounding against her chest. She had a very bad feeling. She started moving away from the holes and some of the others who noticed her actions began to do the same thing, moving away from the holes as much as they could even if it was just a few steps. But strangely, after the holes formed, a moment of silence ensued which made everyone hope that this was the end of it. After having gone through so much, many did not have it in them to bear any burden bigger than this. However, how could things be so simple? The moment of silence did not last long and things did not end there. Without any warning, another tremor began and the ground shook, but this time, something huge and monstrous arose, one from each hole. Giant snakes were swaying in the air, four pairs of glowing green eyes with vicious slits staring down at the people scattered here and there around the stadium. Their dark green scales glinted in the morning sunlight, making them seem as if they were a spectacular marvel of nature. Everyone froze. No one could even think. They were struggling against mere rats which had mutated and evolved to become stronger. Never did they imagine that they would have to deal with the higher predators. When just these rats were so difficult to handle, how could they even fathom handling their predators, these monstrous snakes? A dreadful silence filled the air as the four giant snakes opened their mouths, revealing their sharp fangs, and rolling out their long forked tongues. HISSSSS¡­ The snakes roared in excitement, probably from having seen so much food lying in wait for their taking. Their sharp cries sent the crowd in a frenzy, everyone shouting at the top of their lungs. They were living their worst nightmare. Only death and being eaten alive awaited them. How could they even put up a fought against such blasphemy?! What has happened to the world that they were living in? Even Lu Chen, Guan Ye, Bing Che, and the ex-military soldier had dazed looks on their faces. It was as if they had all silently accepted their fates and were simply waiting for the snakes to devour them. Fighting spirit? What was that? In front of the monsters that should only exist in fictional stories, their knees turned to jelly and their brains melted. They couldn''t even breathe, let alone move. When an apex predator stared down at you, its mere gaze locking you in place, what can you possibly do?