Chapter 14

At first, Cheng Zhiyu didn’t notice Little Black’s intention. Seeing Little Black suddenly blocking his path, small as he was and having to look up at him, there was something oddly domineering about him.

Cheng Zhiyu chuckled at his own thoughts. He squatted down, petted Little Black, and said with a smile, "Be good, I have some errands to run. I’ll be back before dark. I’ve left you buns and meatballs; remember to eat if you get hungry."

Little Black naturally knew that Cheng Zhiyu was going out. His purpose in blocking the way was to go along.

Recently, Little Black had been secretly practicing his Water Power, and he had made considerable progress, from only being able to create a small water ball to now being able to produce a large one.

However, this pace still seemed too slow to him. After all, he wasn’t a mere hatchling; he knew very well that to improve his powers, he needed practical combat experience.

Staying in a safe place might be comforting, but his Water Power was advancing too slowly. Little Black didn’t have the patience to wait.

Even if Cheng Zhiyu didn’t go out, he planned to venture out on his own. Of course, once the other left, he could sneak out.

But then, Little Black glanced at the frail human. Forget it, he decided, he would follow. After all, Cheng Zhiyu had taken him in, and he didn’t want him to end up like those ugly creatures outside.

However, Cheng Zhiyu was unaware of Little Black’s thoughts. Seeing that the other didn’t move, his tone grew serious, "Little Black, stop fooling around. It’s dangerous outside. Stay here and be good; I’ll be back soon."

Danger? The winged ones never feared danger. Little Black sneered. His jumping ability had also improved significantly, and he easily used Cheng Zhiyu’s leg as a springboard to jump onto his shoulder, then slipped inside his collar.

Surrounded by Cheng Zhiyu’s scent, Little Black stiffened for a moment but quickly regained his composure, resting his head against Cheng Zhiyu’s chest, finding it quite comfortable.

Cheng Zhiyu: "...Little Black!"

He pulled Little Black out and placed him on the ground, but as soon as he did, Little Black swiftly darted back into his clothes.

It was clear that practice made perfect; the movement was smooth and quick.

Cheng Zhiyu pulled the dog out again, and Little Black immediately dug back in.

After several rounds of this, Cheng Zhiyu was speechless. If this continued, he'd still be trying to get out the door by sunset!

He gave up trying, poked the dog playing dead on his chest through his clothes, and snapped, "I’m warning you—it’s dangerous outside. If you insist on coming, fine. But stay tucked in my clothes and don’t come out, got it?"

Although Cheng Zhiyu knew Little Black wasn’t an ordinary puppy, he didn’t believe the dog had any self-defense abilities. He was so tiny…

If Little Black weren’t so clever, Cheng Zhiyu would never have agreed to take him along.

Little Black: Didn't know.

Unaware of Little Black’s rebellious thoughts, Cheng Zhiyu grabbed the buns and meatballs he'd set aside for Little Black—otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough to eat.

Gripping the Little Iron Cleaver in one hand and with Xiao Er perched on his shoulder, he opened the door.

The zombies outside had already been cleared earlier, leaving the area deserted. After a moment’s thought, Cheng Zhiyu headed upstairs.

He took the stairs, emerged from the stairwell on the sixth floor, and started hunting for zombies.

There were no zombies in the hallway on the sixth floor, but muffled pounding could be heard from behind some of the residents’ doors—and it sounded like more than one.

Cheng Zhiyu walked up to one of the doors, smashed the lock open with the cleaver, and the moment the door swung open, several zombies lurching out.

His reflexes were sharper than ever. Before Xiao Er could even attack one of them, Cheng Zhiyu had already struck the head of the leading zombie. Its skull split open, and it dropped instantly.

Wearing a hat and mask, only his eyes were visible. His expression remained unchanged as he swiftly swung at another charging zombie.

The remaining one was left for Little Two to handle.

Little Black was rather restless, poking his head out from the collar. Cheng Zhiyu reached out to push him back, but he popped out again. Pushed back, he emerged once more.

Cheng Zhiyu: "..."

He poked Little Black's head: "Aren't you scared?"

Little Black: More like disgusted by the ugliness.

Since Little Black wasn't afraid and wasn't making any fuss, Cheng Zhiyu let it slide.

Little Two had already dealt with the zombie and jumped onto Cheng Zhiyu's shoulder. Together, they entered the apartment.

With three zombies inside, the place was a mess. Cheng Zhiyu only found a small amount of food but didn't mind, storing it in his system space before moving on to the next household.

After that, whenever Cheng Zhiyu heard any movement from an apartment, he followed the same method. The zombies he encountered were scattered, and Little Black watched lazily, never taking action.

By noon, Cheng Zhiyu had reached the twentieth floor. He found a quiet spot and let Little Two and Little Iron return to the system space to rest, watering them both.

After a morning of fighting, Little Two looked much more vibrant, and Little Iron was the same.

Cheng Zhiyu, however, was exhausted. He took off his gloves, washed his hands, and took out the buns from his backpack. They were already cold and weren't as good warm, but they were still quite delicious.

Cheng Zhiyu ate while feeding Little Black, who had jumped out.

He patted Little Black's head: "See? Not as comfy as staying home, is it?"

Little Black shook his ears: Home's boring.

After a busy morning, Cheng Zhiyu was starving. He ate seven buns and drank two bottles of water before feeling satisfied. The two bottles were ones he'd just found.

Little Black also ate quite a bit—five buns and a good amount of water.

Cheng Zhiyu frowned, picked up Little Black, and felt his stomach, muttering: "You ate so much, but where did it all go?"

Little Black's belly was still flat. Cheng Zhiyu had initially worried he might overeat, but now he realized he was worried over nothing.

He thought of something and sighed, muttering to Little Black: "I hadn’t found much water this morning. If we can’t find any today, we’ll have to go outside tomorrow."

There’s a supermarket outside, so they’d definitely find water there. Thinking this, Cheng Zhiyu relaxed a little.

Hearing this, Little Black flicked his ears. Cheng Zhiyu had never mentioned it before, so he hadn’t realized they were running low on water at home.

But there was nothing to worry about—after all, he had Water Power.

With that thought, Little Black jumped onto Cheng Zhiyu’s leg and then dug back into his clothes.

Cheng Zhiyu closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, waiting for his energy to come back.

Only three floors remained above the twentieth. Cheng Zhiyu had become very skilled at dealing with zombies by now, taking them out quickly and having Little Two burn them to ashes to prevent the virus from spreading.

Then he went downstairs and cleaned out the next five floors. Outside the unit building, there were no zombies pounding on doors—they must've wandered off somewhere else.

It was still early, so Cheng Zhiyu and Little Black ate the remaining buns and planned to clear the underground parking lot before heading home.

As for the water issue… they would go outside tomorrow.

Cheng Zhiyu gripped the Little Iron Cleaver tightly and headed down to B1, immediately hearing the zombies' growls.

The underground parking lot had noticeably more zombies, likely people who were unaware of the situation that morning and came down to go to work, only to be bitten and turn into zombies.

There were about a dozen, by the looks of it.

Cheng Zhiyu moved swiftly, cutting through them like slicing watermelons, dispatching them one by one. After a full day of fighting, Xiao Er’s combat effectiveness had improved significantly—what used to take two minutes to burn a zombie to death now took only half a minute.

A dozen zombies might seem like a lot, but Cheng Zhiyu had become highly skilled at handling them. In no time, only one was left.

However, as he swung the kitchen knife at the zombie, Cheng Zhiyu suddenly sensed something wrong. His ears twitched, and he instantly sidestepped, only to see a zombie that had materialized behind him at some point. It was wearing a dress and likely had been a woman in life. Its lifeless eyes fixed on him, sending shivers down his spine—the first time he’d felt genuinely creeped out in a long while.

But Cheng Zhiyu didn't let up. He dodged the female zombie and focused on dispatching the last standing zombie.

Just as he raised his hand, the female zombie charged. While evading her, Cheng Zhiyu dealt with the last zombie and suddenly realized—the two were actually coordinating!

Previously, Cheng Zhiyu’s impression of zombies was that they had no intelligence, only capable of mindless rushing, not even dodging when attacked.

But this female zombie was not only much faster but also knew how to evade. Moreover, after she appeared, the remaining zombie, which had been as clumsy as the others, seemed to have suddenly grown “smarter.” It was still slow, but it seemed to know how to dodge.

As Cheng Zhiyu observed, he realized it wasn’t that they were cooperating—it was more like the female zombie could control the remaining one.

Unbeknownst to him, the zombies were evolving. Cheng Zhiyu felt his scalp crawl.

With the female zombie joining the fray, the situation reached a stalemate, and to make matters worse, Xiao Er hadn’t finished incinerating the other zombie yet.

If it were just that, things might have changed once Xiao Er finished off the zombie. But with his heightened perception, Cheng Zhiyu sensed more zombies approaching from afar.

This couldn’t go on!

Just as Cheng Zhiyu was racking his brain for a solution, Little Black suddenly leaped out of his arms. Panicked and fearing for Little Black’s safety, he urgently called out, "Little Black, come back! It’s dangerous out here!"

Little Black shot Cheng Zhiyu a complicated look—really, still worrying about him at a time like this.

Cheng Zhiyu was growing increasingly frantic, keeping an eye on Little Black’s position while backing up, trying to get closer to scoop him up and return him to safety.

But instead, Little Black charged straight toward the zombies.

Cheng Zhiyu’s eyes widened slightly. "Little Black! Come back!"

However, instead of the expected scenario of Little Black being bitten, something shocking happened: a sphere of water suddenly materialized near Little Black, enveloping the zombie. The clear water instantly turned murky.

The water mass violently pulverized the zombie’s head.

Cheng Zhiyu: "!!!"

More zombies rushed in from outside. Little Black remained completely unfazed, methodically crushing the head of each one that appeared—exceptionally brutal.

The female zombie seemed enraged by this scene, letting out a furious roar. Little Black turned to Cheng Zhiyu: *What are you looking at me for? This one's yours to practice on.*