"Thump... thump... thump..."
Every step Xuanwu took caused the ground to tremble slightly.
Lin Yue lay on its back, feeling this unique rhythm, yet his heart was filled with peace.
Xuanwu's defense combined with Savage Charge meant instant kills against level 1 mutated creatures.
Its only drawback might be its slow speed, but it excelled in stability.
But that didn't matter; Xuanwu was only level 1 now. Perhaps its speed would increase when its level was higher later on.
Furthermore, even if it wasn't fast, it wouldn't matter. As long as its body size was large enough, taking steps of several meters, dozens of meters, or hundreds of meters—could that still be called slow?
Right now, the most important thing was collecting energy points to allow Xuanwu to continuously evolve.
Lin Yue, who had originally planned to go straight to the supermarket to gather supplies, decided to first test the efficiency of active hunting before entering the supermarket.
His gaze fell upon the two Mutated Marmots that were currently sharing the unfortunate victim.
The two monsters seemed to notice Xuanwu, the unwelcome guest. They stopped eating, stood upright, and let out threatening "hissing" sounds from their throats.
"I'll start with you."
There was not a shred of pity in Lin Yue's eyes.
In this world, being merciful to enemies was being cruel to oneself.
He didn't even need to speak; with a thought, he issued the command to Xuanwu: "Run them over."
"Roar!"
A hint of brutality flashed in Xuanwu's ancient eyes. It suddenly lowered its head, and its entire body charged straight toward the two Mutated Marmots like a bulldozer running at full throttle!
The two monsters excelled in speed, and seeing this, they immediately scattered and fled.
One of them had only darted a few meters away when Xuanwu violently swung its massive head!
"Savage Charge!"
"Bang!"
A black shadow flashed past. The Mutated Marmot didn't even have a chance to dodge before it was violently knocked flying, becoming a blurry mass of flesh and blood upon landing.
The other one frantically tried to bypass Xuanwu from the side.
But it clearly underestimated the agility of this behemoth.
Xuanwu merely shifted its body slightly, and its stone-pillar-like massive leg lifted up, then slammed down heavily!
"Pfft!"
A muffled sound, and the marmot's shriek was abruptly cut short.
When Xuanwu lifted its massive foot, only a patch of red residue mixed with dirt remained on the ground.
Clean and decisive.
"Beautiful!"
Lin Yue jumped down from Xuanwu's back, his mind greatly reassured.
With Xuanwu, hunting these low-level mutated creatures was easier than slicing melons and chopping vegetables.
He walked over to the two corpses, and the expected prompt sounded in his mind.
[Dead life form detected (level 1 Mutated Burrowing Rat). energy crystal detected. Absorb?]
"Yes!"
Lin Yue placed his hand on the corpse. A faint, barely visible light spilled out, coalesced into a crystal the size of a fingernail, and then transformed into a warm current that flowed along his arm and merged into his body.
[Absorbed level 1 energy crystal. Gained 10 energy points.]
[Absorbed level 1 energy crystal. Gained 10 energy points.]
Adding the scattered energy automatically absorbed earlier from the man who was being eaten by the two unfortunate victims next to the Mutated Dog corpse, as well as the energy from the mutated rats knocked flying by Xuanwu...
The numbers on the system panel rapidly updated.
[Required for Level 2 promotion: 40 / 100 energy points.]
"It's already almost halfway there so quickly!"
Lin Yue was delighted.
Seeing how terrifying Xuanwu was, the mutated beasts that hadn't dared to approach immediately scattered and fled.
Having dealt with the trouble, Lin Yue no longer delayed and directed Xuanwu to the entrance of the "Le'gou Life" Supermarket.
The supermarket's glass doors were already shattered, revealing a dark, cavernous entrance. A strange smell of rotting food mixed with dust wafted out.
"Xuanwu, guard the entrance. Don't let anything come in."
Lin Yue patted Xuanwu's carapace and issued the command.
Xuanwu obediently positioned its massive body across the doorway, like a living city wall, completely blocking the already narrow entrance.
Its dark carapace and cold eyes were the best warning.
With such a "Door God" present, Lin Yue felt completely at ease.
He tightened his grip on the iron pipe he had picked up from under the car—it was his only weapon right now.
Although Xuanwu was there, caution was always correct when surviving the apocalypse.
He took a deep breath and quickly slipped into the supermarket.
The supermarket was a mess. Shelves were toppled everywhere, and goods were scattered across the floor, crunching loudly underfoot.
Lin Yue cautiously moved between the shelves, his eyes rapidly scanning.
His goals were clear: sealed packaged food, bottled water, and any potential medical supplies.
The wound on his face was still stinging fiercely and needed treatment.
Soon, on a relatively intact shelf, he found an entire pack of unopened mineral water, six large bottles in total.
"That's great!"
Lin Yue was delighted; this was hard currency.
He searched the snack section again, finding several bags of vacuum-packed beef jerky and a few sausages.
Although he didn't know if they were expired, the packaging was intact, which was better than nothing.
Just as he stuffed his spoils into a salvaged backpack and prepared to check the medicine section, an extremely faint noise suddenly came from the depths of the supermarket.
"Rustle... rustle..."
Lin Yue's movements instantly froze, and the muscles in his whole body tensed up.
He immediately squatted down, hiding behind a shelf, holding his breath, and gripping the iron pipe tighter.
Was it a monster? Or... a person?
The sound was intermittent, not like a monster's roar, but more like something being dragged.
The source seemed to be the warehouse at the very back of the supermarket.
Lin Yue's heart rate involuntarily sped up.
The terrible sight of the man being eaten by the Mutated Marmots was still vivid in his memory.
In this world, surviving humans were sometimes more dangerous than monsters.
He hesitated for a moment, but intense curiosity overcame his fear, and Lin Yue ultimately decided to investigate.
After all, with Xuanwu present, he had a retreat option.
He crouched low, using the shelves for cover, silently inching toward the warehouse.
The warehouse door was slightly ajar, leaving a gap.
As he got closer, the "rustling" sound became clearer, mixed with faint, suppressed gasps.
Suddenly, an extremely weak, choked male voice emerged from the gap in the door.
"Water... Can someone give me some water... Help..."
It was a person!
Lin Yue's heart skipped a beat.
There was actually a survivor!
His first reaction was not joy, but deeper vigilance. A person trapped in a warehouse, weakened to this extent? This sounded too much like a trap.
"Please... Is anyone there... My leg is trapped..." The voice sounded again, filled with despair.
Lin Yue stopped, his mind racing.
Save him, or not save him?
Saving him might lead to unknown danger.
Not saving him—if the person truly was pitiful, his conscience would trouble him. Plus, having an extra companion might allow him to exchange useful information.
After weighing the options repeatedly, Lin Yue decided to take the risk.
He had Xuanwu as his trump card and enough confidence to handle unexpected situations.
"Who is inside?"
Lin Yue lowered his voice and asked solemnly toward the door gap.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the silent supermarket.
The person inside was clearly startled, followed by sounds of frantic, joyful struggling.
"A person! A living person! Oh my god, I'm not dreaming! Brother, please save me! I'm trapped under a shelf, I'm about to suffocate!"
Lin Yue hesitated no longer and shoved open the warehouse door.
The warehouse was dim, with only a sliver of faint light filtering in from a small window high up.
Using the light, he saw the scene inside clearly.
A young man in his early twenties, his face pale as paper and lips cracked, was sprawled on the floor.
His left leg was firmly pinned beneath a collapsed heavy metal shelf and was already somewhat deformed.
Seeing Lin Yue, the young man's eyes erupted with a strong desire to survive.
"Brother! I beg you, help me lift this shelf up!"
Lin Yue scrutinized him. Other than pain and despair, there was nothing unusual in the man's eyes.
The trapped leg was severely injured; it didn't look faked.
"Alright."
Lin Yue nodded, put down his backpack, and stepped forward.
He grabbed a corner of the shelf and tried to lift it with force.
The shelf was incredibly heavy. Even using all his strength, he only managed to make it wobble slightly.
"Together! I can still use a little strength!"
The young man struggled, trying to push with his hands.
"One, two, three, lift!"
Lin Yue roared softly, the veins bulging on his arms as he exerted his full strength.
"Creak—"
Under their combined effort, the heavy metal shelf was finally lifted enough to create a gap.
Seeing this, the young man quickly pulled out his bloody and mangled leg.
The shelf crashed back down onto the floor.
"Hoo... hoo... Thank you! Thank you so much, brother!"
The young man collapsed on the floor, clutching his injured leg, too excited to speak coherently, tears streaming down his face.
"You're welcome. In this world, every survivor counts."
Lin Yue said this, took a bottle of mineral water from his backpack, twisted the cap open, and handed it over.
The young man snatched it, gripping it like a lifeline, tilted his head back, and vigorously guzzled half the bottle.
"Ha—I feel alive again!"
He let out a long breath and looked at Lin Yue gratefully:
"Brother, you truly are my savior! My name is Zhao Si. I've been trapped here for two days. If it weren't for you, I really thought I was going to die here."
"Lin Yue."