Evening.
At the dilapidated Linghui Academy, on the walls of the ruined teaching building, dried bloodstains and charred bullet marks intertwined to form a grotesque mural. The air was filled with a strong smell of rust and decaying flesh.
This was a nest of ghouls and a hunting ground for mutated beasts.
The three survivors from Class 2 (1) were now struggling through the shadows of the collapsed library ruins.
Tang Buyu walked at the very front. His stature was not tall, even a bit thin, but his back was ramrod straight, like a taut steel bar.
He held his left hand in a loose grip, and the twisted, deformed metal bookshelves blocking the way ahead were kneaded as if by an invisible giant hand, emitting a grating “creak” and slowly parting to both sides, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to pass.
His ability—【Metal Storm】—was not merely about controlling metal, but about sensing, twisting, and even temporarily imbuing metal with a certain “activity,” as if commanding a silent and sharp army.
“Hurry!” Tang Buyu’s voice was very low, with a hint of an almost imperceptible hoarseness and tension. Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead; continuously using his ability to clear the way was a significant mental burden for him.
“There’s no choice. We brought back so little food today, it won’t last more than a few days. We had to come out and look for more.”
Close behind him was Bai Lingdong. Her face was pale, her lips tightly pressed, and her large eyes were filled with alarm, vigilantly scanning everything around her. Her body trembled slightly, and every faint sound of her stepping on gravel made her heart pound.
Her ability 【Spatial Teleportation】 was a life-saving trump card. She could also instantly teleport, but it would leave her completely naked, and the cost was enormous and uncontrollable. She would never use it unless absolutely necessary.
At the very back was Li Bing, his figure flickering like a ghost, his footsteps so light they were almost silent. He seemed to merge with the surrounding shadows, his aura so faint as to be almost imperceptible.
His ability 【Shadow is My Body】 allowed him to be nearly invisible in shadows, and his innate spiritual skill 【Shadow Space】 was their greatest reliance for surviving in the apocalypse—an absolutely safe shadow dimension that could temporarily accommodate living beings.
Two space-type abilities, one element-type. Indeed, these three heaven-defying abilities allowed them to survive in the apocalypse.
“Bingzi, what’s the situation behind us?” Tang Buyu asked without turning his head, his voice exceptionally clear in the dead silence of the ruins.
Li Bing’s figure flickered slightly in the shadows, like rippling water.
“Temporarily safe. No living energy reactions within fifty meters,” his voice was low and calm, with a peculiar echo as if from the depths of the shadows.
“But… there’s something deeper, very strong energy… very cold… like… a knife in an ice cellar.”
Tang Buyu frowned slightly. Li Bing’s perception had always been keen, especially his intuition for energy and danger.
The “knife in an ice cellar” he mentioned cast an ominous shadow over Tang Buyu’s heart. But at this moment, they had no retreat.
The storeroom of the teaching building’s convenience store was their target for this trip. There, perhaps, still remained some uncontaminated or unlooted sealed food and water.
“No matter what it is, grab the stuff and retreat immediately!” Tang Buyu said in a deep voice, quickening his pace. Metal, under his mental control, continued to silently part obstacles like obedient servants.
They passed through the library ruins and entered an open-air corridor connecting to the main teaching building, which looked as if it had been gnawed by a giant beast.
Moonlight poured down unobstructed, clearly illuminating the scattered rubble, broken rebar, and dried, blackened bloodstains. The cold sense of oppression in the air seemed to grow heavier.
“It’s just ahead!”
Bai Lingdong pointed to a half-collapsed entrance at the end of the corridor, sealed by a heavy metal rolling door, her voice tinged with suppressed excitement. That was the entrance to the underground small storeroom.
Tang Buyu took a deep breath and focused his mind. He extended his right hand, fingers spread, aiming at the twisted and deformed metal rolling door. An invisible force surged from his palm like a tide!
Buzz—!
The metal began to soften and deform as if it were heated butter!
The huge bolt was forcibly twisted off amidst the ear-splitting screech of metal! With a dull thud, the rolling door was forcefully pushed open, creating a gap just wide enough for a person to bend down and enter!
“It’s done!” Tang Buyu let out a sigh of relief, a weary look of joy on his face.
He was the first to bend down and squeeze inside. Bai Lingdong followed closely, and Li Bing slipped in silently like a shadow, simultaneously scanning behind him vigilantly.
The storeroom was pitch black, with only faint moonlight filtering through the entrance gap, barely outlining the mountainous stacks of cardboard boxes and shelves. The air was filled with dust and the faint smell of expired food.
“Split up and search! Sealed cans! Bottled water! Compressed biscuits!”
Tang Buyu ordered in a low voice, simultaneously turning on his phone’s flashlight function.
The three immediately dispersed, quickly rummaging through the piled-up clutter.
Bai Lingdong’s movements were a bit flustered, several times almost tripping over the debris on the ground.
Li Bing, on the other hand, moved like a true shadow, silently traversing the darkness, his movements precise and efficient.
Tang Buyu searched while maintaining illumination and vigilance over the entrance.
Time passed minute by minute.
Their harvest was quite good; they found several unopened boxes of mineral water, some well-sealed meat cans, and several large packs of compressed biscuits. The light of hope dispelled some of their fear.
“That’s enough! Retreat!” Tang Buyu stuffed the last pack of compressed biscuits into his bulging backpack and said in a low voice.
The three quickly regrouped, preparing to return the way they came.
Bai Lingdong even showed a relieved smile, as if having narrowly escaped disaster. They crouched low, quickly moving through the piled goods towards the gap in the entrance.
Just as they were about to squeeze out of the gap and return to the moonlit corridor—
An indescribable, tangible cold killing intent, like a cold current from a collapsing polar glacier, instantly swept through the entire space!
The air seemed to freeze! The temperature plummeted! Even the light from the floating metal fragments seemed to dim slightly!
Tang Buyu’s movements instantly froze! An unprecedented, immense fear, stemming from the instinct of life itself, instantly coiled around his heart like a cold viper, choking his throat! He suddenly looked up!
He saw that at the end of the corridor, in the open ruined space illuminated by the moonlight, at some unknown point, a… colossal figure stood!
It… no, it was he!
Nearly three meters tall! Nearly five meters long! Covered in scales as smooth as black jade, yet shimmering with the cold light of metal!
At the ends of his thick, pillar-like limbs were sharp claws, like scimitars, gleaming with a cold, ghostly blue light! A massive tail covered in grotesque bone spikes dragged behind him like a steel whip, scraping the ground with a heart-stopping sound! Most terrifying was his head!
Covered in thick bone armor, his crimson beast eyes were like two searchlights from hell, burning with cold, tyrannical, emotionless flames in the darkness!
Bone Eater Realm! Absolutely a terrifying existence of the Bone Eater Realm!
Zhuang Han!
He stood there silently, like a demon god crawled out of the abyss of hell, his crimson beast eyes, like the most precise scanners, coldly swept over the three individuals who had just emerged from the storeroom, frozen in place like startled rabbits.
In his gaze, there was no anger, no greed, only a kind of… indifference… as if looking at ants… and a hint of… imperceptible… annoyance?
He had originally been lurking nearby, digesting the blood and essence he had gained from hunting ghouls earlier, and pondering how to continue training those ghouls tomorrow.
These three tiny humans, like insects intruding into a giant beast’s territory, he had originally disdained. As long as they wisely rolled far away, he wouldn’t bother with them.
But… they came out. Not only did they come out, they… swaggered? They… actually dared to ignore him?! As if he didn’t exist?!
Uh… is there a possibility that you disguised yourself too well… and they didn’t discover you?
But obviously, the author cannot rush into the book to tell Zhuang Han this fact.
A primal fury, stemming from being underestimated by ants, exploded in Zhuang Han’s cold will like ignited dynamite! Training a bunch of brainless ghouls was already troublesome enough, and now you dare to look down on me? Outrageous!
“Roar—!!!”
A low, hoarse roar, like muffled thunder rolling across the ruins, exploded from Zhuang Han’s fanged maw!
The violent sound waves, mixed with the terrifying pressure of the Bone Eater Realm, slammed into the three like an invisible heavy hammer!
Thud! Thud!
Bai Lingdong and Li Bing bore the brunt! Bai Lingdong felt as if her brain had been struck by a heavy hammer, her vision went black, her legs went weak, and she collapsed directly to the ground, the intense ringing in her ears almost making her lose the ability to think!
Li Bing grunted, his body struck as if by a high-speed train, flying backward and slamming hard against the half-collapsed wall behind him! A sweetness rose in his throat, and a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out! His state of merging with the shadows was instantly broken, and his figure appeared in disarray!
Only Tang Buyu! He gnashed his teeth, an unprecedented fierce light bursting from his eyes! The moment the roar struck, he roared, pushing his hands forward violently!
The scattered metal fragments, broken rebar, and even the twisted remnants of the rolling door at the warehouse entrance! As if drawn by an invisible magnetic force, they instantly converged in front of him!
Madly spinning, compressing, coalescing! Forming a huge, thick shield shimmering with the cold light of metal!
Boom—!!!
The sound wave slammed heavily into the giant metal shield! Producing a deafening roar! The shield vibrated violently! Its surface instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks!
The immense impact transmitted through the shield, causing Tang Buyu’s arms to ache terribly, as if they were about to break! He grunted, his body uncontrollably sliding backward, his feet plowing two deep furrows in the ground!
A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth!
He blocked it! But… it was just one roar!
A very subtle… surprise… flashed in Zhuang Han’s crimson beast eyes? He seemed not to have expected this “insect” to be able to withstand his pressure.
His massive body suddenly moved! There was no earth-shattering momentum, but it carried a suffocatingly terrifying speed! His huge paws stepped on the ground, making a dull “thud” sound! The ground trembled slightly!
He charged straight at Tang Buyu with a terrifying momentum that seemed to crush everything!
His massive claws rose high, the ghostly blue claw blades shimmering with the cold light of death under the moonlight! Target—that crumbling metal giant shield! And… Tang Buyu behind the shield!
“Tang Buyu!” Bai Lingdong let out a heart-wrenching scream.