A gust of wind swept through, stirring a pile of litter and torn pieces of clothing.
Ever since Wen Yu heard about the police station, he had rushed towards it at breakneck speed, not even waiting for the night to fully set in.
Outside of combat, his physical fitness was three times that of an average person. This granted Wen Yu incomparable speed, and darting through the city, he found a long-lost sense of freedom.
Indeed, in this world, only the powerful are eligible to talk about freedom and life.
Recalling the events that unfolded at the beginning of the apocalypse—whether it was the invitation from the Protector squad or the thrill of dominating the life and death of others—Wen Yu found himself sinking deeper and deeper.
Why strive to become stronger? It's for this feeling, this freedom—to control your own life, even the lives of others. So, become stronger, young man. Right now, you're still far from it.
Wen Yu quietly cheered himself on. Since God had given him another chance and a perfect start, why wouldn't he fight for the future he desired?
...
The closer he got to the police station, the more bloodstains he saw on the ground. Splatters of blood told everyone that a horrific battle had taken place here.
But what puzzled Wen Yu most was that as he neared the police station, the number of bodies on the ground dwindled, and the zombies slowly vanished.
Ordinarily, these unintelligent creatures, without a leader, wouldn't gather together in such a short time; they would only wander within a certain range.
Unless...
Wen Yu thought of a possibility.
Instead of proceeding towards the police station, Wen Yu made a detour and climbed a nearby office building.
Standing by the window on the 10th floor, Wen Yu looked down.
What greeted Wen Yu's eyes was akin to a large-scale action movie.
Countless zombies filled the street, storming towards the entrance of the police station. Trampling incidents occurred frequently within the zombie horde. Clumsy zombies, once tripped by their companions, were quickly trampled into pulp by the oncoming horde.
What Wen Yu found most amusing was the battle raging at the station's entrance.
Countless zombies were practically bursting through the police station's gate, but their opponents—a large group of rats that had occupied the station—darted around within the zombie horde.
The rats' gray fur made them difficult targets for the unmutated zombies. Meanwhile, their nimble bodies allowed them to easily toy with the zombies, sending them spinning in circles. Not a single rat was caught; instead, they caused more zombies to fall. And once downed, those zombies never rose again.
These cat-sized rats possessed mutated, oversized incisors that madly tore into the zombies' rotting flesh.
Despite the poor taste, the virus in the zombies' flesh and blood was a crucial nutrient for the evolution of mutant creatures.
It was clear that a large group of newly evolved rats were gnawing on the zombie limbs scattered on the ground. The rats continuously dragged uneaten food into the police station. Judging from the bloodstains at the station's entrance, if not a thousand, then at least eight hundred zombies must have collapsed there. However, now, aside from the bloodstains, hardly any bodies remained.
Wen Yu carefully inspected his surroundings from his high vantage point.
Obviously, such a large-scale zombie horde wouldn't occur naturally. Even if there was turmoil inside the police station, it wouldn't attract so many zombies.
Moreover, looking at the movement patterns of the surrounding zombies and the traces in the distance, it was clear they had been deliberately lured to the front entrance of the police station by humans.
But this is so stupid.
Wen Yu looked at the situation before him and couldn't help but sigh.
Ignorance breeds disaster.
Whoever came up with this idea, it was a foolish one.
Wen Yu watched as, at the entrance of the police station, an originally unmutated rat, after devouring a zombie's arm, saw its body rapidly expand. Growing over three times in size in an instant, it successfully evolved into a mutant creature.
This was why Wen Yu considered the idea foolish.
In the apocalypse, numbers didn't mean everything. The saying "unity is strength," to some extent, had become a joke.
Thousands of zombies on narrow streets would undoubtedly be wiped out by several hundred mutant rats. This could even spur the rise of Level 2, or even Third-level Rat Kings, which would be the most terrifying outcome.
Originally, Wen Yu's plan was to enter the police station. His main purpose was to kill the mutant rats; finding guns was secondary. Although mutant rats weren't easy to kill, at this stage, rats capable of evolving into Level 1 mutant creatures were still a minority.
Most were newly mutated, their potential still lacking. They were awkwardly stuck as Level 0 mutant creatures, somewhere between ordinary creatures and Level 1 mutant creatures.
These little fellows were worth points too.
If Wen Yu could secure a good position, use hit-and-run tactics, and rely on his F-Class protective suit as a defensive tool, he could possibly take out all the mutant rats in the police station. That would definitely allow him to advance to the peak of a Level 1 professionist. A physical attribute score of 10 would guarantee he could make a fortune in the treasure land of Riverside Park.
But now?
I need to think of another way.
Wen Yu squinted, closely observing the quantity and quality of the mutant rats in the police station.
There were many of them—nearly a hundred swarmed outside the police station, tearing at everything in sight. About a tenth of these were Level 1 mutant rats.
Every time a mutant rat got injured or had eaten its fill, a new one would rush out to take its place.
The small rat horde had already developed rudimentary tactics.
According to Wen Yu's estimate, facing such a large tide of rats, he would have no chance of survival even if he managed to enter the police station.
And seeing the disciplined way these rats advanced and retreated, it was likely a powerful figure commanded them from within—a Level 2 Mutant Beast.
It's a bit too early in the apocalypse for this.
Wen Yu grimaced; his recent surge of pride was instantly extinguished by this sobering sight.
It was then that Wen Yu realized.
In the apocalypse, humans were never the main characters.
Forget about the guns and bulletproof vests. Wen Yu immediately adjusted his plan. The fact that countless zombies had rushed into the station without a single sound escaping convinced Wen Yu that entering the police station was impossible. It wasn't worth the risk for Wen Yu, just for guns and bulletproof vests.
But these points are clearly up for grabs!
Looking at the zombies lining up below to be slaughtered, Wen Yu instantly perked up. This time, he wouldn't go after the rats; killing zombies also yielded points.
He carefully observed the zombie horde below.
Level one zombies possessed rudimentary intelligence. They apparently sensed the dangerous battle raging ahead. Consequently, these creatures wouldn't willingly venture closer, and attracting them intentionally was also very difficult. This resulted in very few Level one zombies within such a massive horde.
The massive zombie horde, fragmented by numerous buildings, acted purely on instinct. Driven by the distant scent of mutant creature flesh and the roars of their kin emanating from the police station, they surged forward mindlessly, heedless of trampling countless companions in their path.
Wen Yu's face twitched at the sight—all those potential points were being trampled into oblivion!
Swiftly descending the building, Wen Yu decided to make a big move. He would at least snatch a piece of meat from the mouths of those giant rats.