C20 Chapter 20

Thick, black blood sprayed in all directions, accompanied by an overwhelming stench that hit like a wave.

In that moment, Liu Dajun yanked out his knife and delivered another decisive chop to the zombie's head, finally taking down the creature before him.

But then, another zombie, its gaping maw oozing blood, lunged at him. Startled, Liu Dajun stumbled over a severed arm behind him and crashed to the ground.

His brothers rushed in, hacking away at the zombie in a frenzied effort to free Liu Dajun. Meanwhile, several more zombies were making their way up from the first floor, their bodies writhing as they struggled to stand.

Overwhelmed by three zombies, the group could barely defend themselves. Then, as one zombie made a beeline for Qin Yuan, a bone-chopping knife sliced through it, reducing it to a pile of mush.

"Jiang Ruan!" Qin Yuan exclaimed, astonished that Jiang Ruan had come to their rescue. Hope reignited within him at her arrival.

Jiang Ruan nudged him aside. "Take care of yourself," she instructed, "I've got the others."

She moved with incredible speed, reaching Liu Dajun's side in no time. With a swift raise of her bone knife, she cleaved through a zombie's head as if it were a head of cabbage, fragile and easily split.

They had never truly witnessed Jiang Ruan's full capabilities. They had never underestimated her, but they hadn't fully appreciated her either. Now, as she single-handedly dispatched the three zombies before her, she headed towards the staircase.

"Are you going to help me or not?" she called out to the men behind her, who stood frozen like statues. Her shout snapped them back to reality.

Hu Lang, gripping his knife, joined the fray, slashing wildly at the zombies on the ground until their heads were reduced to a pulp.

It was a brutal sight, one that the others could hardly stomach. Jiang Ruan, however, dispatched the zombies with swift, precise strikes, her clothes barely catching any of the black blood.

In no time at all, Jiang Ruan had led the group in clearing out all the zombies in the area. The men sat on the ground, stunned by the aftermath, while Jiang Ruan, unfazed, continued her work. She shattered the skulls of the fallen zombies and meticulously extracted the crystal nuclei within.

It was a straightforward and brutal approach.

"Why are you just standing there?" she exclaimed. Did he really expect her to extract the crystal nucleus all by herself?

Snapping out of his daze, Liu Dajun followed Jiang Ruan's lead, bursting the zombies' heads one by one and retrieving the crystal nuclei nestled within.

In total, they collected 37 crystal nuclei. Once everyone had finished, they gathered around Jiang Ruan, intending to hand them all over to her. This caught Jiang Ruan off guard. Weren't they supposed to be looking out for themselves? Why the sudden change?

Liu Xiong, ever the optimist, couldn't help but smile despite the recent brush with death. "Today, if it weren't for you, Miss Jiang, coming to our rescue, we'd likely be dead, victims of the zombies. These crystal nuclei belong to you," he said with gratitude.

"Absolutely," chimed in Liu Dajun, his gaze fixed firmly on Jiang Ruan. "Miss Jiang, please accept them. And if you ever need anything in the future, just give the word. We'll face any danger for you, no questions asked!"

From that moment on, they resolved to protect the young woman before them. In their hearts, Jiang Ruan had become family, someone they could never leave behind.

"Keep the crystal nuclei for yourselves; use them as you need," Jiang Ruan advised. "But be warned: if you lack the resolve, the backlash after ingestion could turn you into zombies. Consider this carefully." She didn't plan to elaborate.

She had never been short on crystal nuclei. For her, acquiring them was as easy as a flick of the wrist. But she knew the power they contained wasn't for the faint of heart. Her cautionary words were meant to help them.

The group exchanged glances, taking Jiang Ruan's warning to heart.

Hu Lang surveyed the eerie surroundings and spoke up, "Let's head back quickly, before we attract more zombies."