C4 Cleaning the Residential Buildings

Huffing and puffing, Chen Yu leaned against the wall, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. Despite the lightning-fast takedown of the powerful mutated dog, the cost to him was equally staggering. He had used a technique that allowed for a momentary surge of strength at the expense of nearly all his energy. In those brief seconds, Chen Yu had nearly depleted his reserves.

"The body of an ordinary person is just too frail... I need to unlock the genetic energy channels as soon as possible!"

Once he caught his breath, Chen Yu reached into the chest cavity of the mutated dog and extracted a shimmering crystal nucleus. He wiped it off carelessly and slipped it into his pocket.

Hiss... Hiss...

Chen Yu hadn't even managed to stand up when the unmistakable hiss of a zombie echoed from the nearby door. Without looking, he knew that Uncle Lee had turned after the mutated dog's attack...

The interruption had spared Uncle Lee from being devoured completely. His body lay almost intact, the mutated dog's bites causing an infection that transformed him into a zombie. Chen Yu grabbed his shield and knife, entered Uncle Lee's house, and ended it with a swift, fatal cut.

Gazing at Uncle Lee's body, Chen Yu could only shake his head in resignation. He had intended to save him, but the mutation of the dog had been too rapid, leaving no opportunity for rescue.

After a silent moment with Uncle Lee's body, Chen Yu turned and made his way to the bathroom. He quickly cleaned the blood from his face before heading outside.

Chen Yu had a plan. He would start by clearing out his own building. This would ensure safety for at least three days, and he hoped to find one or two survivors in the process.

He didn't extract the crystal nucleus from Uncle Lee's chest, not out of respect for an elder—such moral constraints had long since faded in the five years since the apocalypse. Rather, it was because mutations from external infections didn't produce a crystal nucleus. These precious cores only formed in those who mutated directly from the original virus, not in those who turned after being attacked and infected. In other words, once a living person was infected from an injury, they could only become an ordinary mutated zombie, with no chance for further evolution.

Mutated creatures not originally infected by the virus could evolve into even more formidable and bloodthirsty variants as the apocalypse wore on, spurred by further mutations of the original virus.

The noise from slaying the mutated dog drew the attention of numerous zombies. Chen Yu, standing in the hallway, could hear the zombies' hissing and the thuds against the doors from both above and below. This obviated the need for him to check each room individually.

He rode the elevator to the top floor and began a systematic sweep from the top down. Any sign of activity in a room, and he'd forcefully kick the door in, knife and shield at the ready, and charge in to eliminate the threat.

Luckily, it was the afternoon of May 4th, just after the Labor Day holiday had ended. Most people had returned to work, leaving few at home. Chen Yu found the task of clearing the building relatively easy.

The largest group of zombies he encountered was a family of four, which he dispatched in under thirty seconds. At a pace of roughly five to six minutes per floor, Chen Yu had the entire ten-story building cleared in an hour and a half. This included breaks to rest and use crystal nuclei to restore his strength and enhance his physique.

He also stumbled upon two mutated beasts, former pets trapped in their homes, which added to the cleanup time. Had he been working at full tilt, with his expertise and skill, Chen Yu could have finished in under an hour—a testament to the high efficiency and the adage, "Knowledge changes destiny."

Five years prior, Chen Yu had hidden in his home for a week, only venturing out after receiving an emergency broadcast from the government. Now, back at the dawn of the apocalypse and armed with five years of survival memories, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Even as an ordinary man, he boldly faced the residential building's zombies and mutated beasts alone. And in the process, he managed to rescue four survivors—three of whom had avoided disaster by being home alone.

One of them had been cornered in the bathroom by a mutated family member. In the nick of time, just as the door was about to give way, Chen Yu arrived and rescued him.

The sight that greeted the four of them was a blood-soaked, icy Chen Yu, whose fierce demeanor was as startling as any zombie.

They were still in their rooms, coming to terms with the cataclysmic shift of the apocalypse.

Chen Yu was in no state of mind to offer them any psychological support.

With the apocalypse upon them, if one couldn't adapt, it might seem more merciful to end it all and spare oneself the agony.

By the time the last zombie in the apartment building was down, Chen Yu had collected sixteen crystal nuclei.

Three of these were from mutated beasts, pulsing with a genetic energy far more potent than that of the zombie nuclei.

Not included in this count were four additional nuclei that Wu Yu had consumed to restore his vitality and enhance his physical condition.

Having absorbed these nuclei, Chen Yu's physical fitness had soared.

His individual abilities were now nudging the recorded peak values of human performance.

Whether it was stamina, speed, vision, or explosive power, he was at the pinnacle of what pre-evolutionary humans could achieve.

Even though Chen Yu was not yet an Evolver and hadn't unlocked his Genetic Energy Vein, he already possessed the prowess to go toe-to-toe with a newly mutated zombie or beast.

Once he had barricaded the main control door with a heavy object, Chen Yu could finally relax and return home.

His parents were still in a coma.

Chen Yu administered another crystal nucleus to each of them to replenish their depleted genetic energy.

Far from being concerned about the prolonged unconsciousness, Chen Yu was actually thrilled. The longer the coma, according to five years of post-apocalyptic research, the higher the chance of awakening innate abilities upon recovery—abilities that tended to be both rarer and more powerful.

Chen Yu knew of one individual who had been comatose for three years.

Upon awakening, this person had gained the extraordinary ability to manipulate light.

With this formidable power, he single-handedly annihilated all the zombies and mutated beasts in an entire fallen city, averting the collapse of a major stronghold.

It's important to remember that by this point in the apocalypse, the creatures that roamed the cities had evolved far beyond their initial states.

The formidable mutated zombies and beasts, having undergone multiple transformations, were a source of unparalleled horror. Evolvers could scarcely escape their clutches, much less vanquish them...

This individual rose to prominence in a single battle, earning the title of Radiant Saint.

Had it not been for the influence of cosmic civilizations and the trials faced by students, the Radiant Saint might have risen to become humanity's strongest protector. But alas...

Chen Yu shook his head, his expression tinged with regret.

He was acutely aware that in the final battle of Doomsday, he was the sole human champion to endure to the bitter end.

The universe's civilizations were a dazzling tapestry of life, far from the silent void humanity had once imagined.

Against the backdrop of these advanced societies and their formidable denizens, the mightiest among Blue Star's own were mere insects, nothing more than tools for sharpening blades.

Indeed, to these extraterrestrial observers, Blue Star's apocalypse was nothing short of a grand banquet.

Were it not for the unforeseen incursion of the Abyss Devils, Blue Star would have been little more than a coveted morsel for these dominant civilizations to squabble over.

Every creature on Blue Star was but an ornament on their lavish spread.

Humans—mere chattel!