The interior of the Black Behemoth felt like it belonged to a different world.
Outside, Jinghai burned in a haze of purple sky and collapsing buildings. Inside, the air conditioner hummed with the steady confidence of a machine that refused to acknowledge the apocalypse. The soft leather sofa—liberated from the High School of the Dead's staff lounge—creaked as Su Chen leaned back.
On the low table, steam curled lazily from a self-heating hotpot. Cold beer clinked with condensation. A plate of flawless fresh grapes sat next to a bowl of white rice that smelled like civilization.
Saya Takagi looked at it all like she'd stumbled into a hallucination.
"This is…" Her hands trembled around her chopsticks. "This is absurd. We're driving through hell, and you're serving Wagyu beef?"
"Eat," Su Chen said, calmly dipping a slice of meat into spicy sauce. "Your brain eats calories like a black hole. If you faint, my navigation dies."
Up front, Jiang Rou drove with one hand and cradled a chocolate bar with the other. Her cheeks were streaked with tears—pure joy, not fear.
"Boss! I love you! Three days without chocolate was torture!"
Saeko Busujima sat by the firing port, quietly cleaning her Mantis Bone Blade. She ate with elegant speed—quick, controlled, but starving, like someone who'd forgotten what 'full' felt like. Her newly awakened [Blood Asura] talent burned through energy like rocket fuel.
On the beanbag chair, Shizuka was the opposite. Pale, sweating, wilted. The increased gravity pressed her into the fabric like she was sinking into quicksand.
"I… I think I'm gonna throw up…" she groaned, clutching her stomach.
Su Chen wiped his mouth, stood, and pulled open his System Interface.
---
Inventory Check
Loot from Zombie Dog Horde
Mutated Fangs ×50
Minor Agility Orb ×3
Minor Constitution Orb ×1
---
"Only one Constitution Orb from hundreds of dogs," he muttered. "Drop rate's garbage."
For a normal survivor, this orb was a priceless artifact.
For Su Chen?
It was a building block.
He plucked the yellow marble-sized orb from storage.
[Effect: +0.5 Constitution]
"System, copy."
Flash.
One became two.
Flash.
Two became four.
Flash.
Four became eight.
Soon, his hand glowed with a handful of warm golden orbs.
He tossed five at Shizuka. "Swallow. Don't chew."
"M-Medicine?" she blinked, catching them clumsily. She popped one into her mouth.
Gulp.
Her entire body glowed faintly.
She sat up suddenly. "Oh! I feel… lighter! The nausea's gone!"
"Good. Keep going."
He tossed five Agility Orbs toward Saeko. She caught them between her fingers like falling leaves.
"Max your stats."
Saya stared like she was witnessing a crime. "You duplicated evolutionary items…? Su Chen, nations would go to war for one of those!"
"And I eat them like gummies." Su Chen tossed one into his own mouth. "Because I can."
A soft chime echoed.
[Agility Tier 1—MAX. Further consumption ineffective.]
Su Chen stretched his shoulders. His body felt tighter, faster—like the world slowed half a step around him.
He glanced at Shizuka.
[Awakened: Forced via Resource Surge]
[Talent: Pheromone Aura (A-Rank)]
[Effect: Regeneration + Stress Suppression]
"A walking healing field," Su Chen said with a nod. "Finally some ROI."
---
The Roadblock
"Boss," Jiang Rou's voice crackled through the intercom. "Uh… we've got a problem."
Su Chen walked to the front.
The highway ahead was gone—not broken, not blocked—consumed.
A forest had erupted from the sewers. Not a natural one. The vines were thick as industrial cables, crawling over street signs and cars, choking the road into a single suffocating mass.
Thick purple pollen drifted in the air. Even from inside the truck, the sight made Su Chen's nose sting.
Saya typed rapidly. "Thermal signatures… everywhere. If we stop, whatever's inside will rush us."
Saeko stepped beside him, blade resting on her shoulder. "I can cut a path."
"Not before the poison drops you." Su Chen shook his head. "We're not playing martyr simulator."
He stared at the forest.
It breathed.
It pulsed.
And it blocked his route.
"Jiang Rou, back us up fifty meters."
"On it!"
Su Chen opened the side hatch. "Saya, rear ramp. I need the fuel."
He walked toward the back as the ramp lowered.
A 50-gallon diesel drum sat waiting. He grabbed it with one hand and stepped out like he was holding a bag of groceries.
He kicked it down the slope.
Then he grabbed another drum.
And another.
And another.
Twenty barrels thundered down the highway, piling against the wall of vines.
Shizuka covered her mouth. "T-That's… a lot of fuel."
"Not enough."
He summoned a bone javelin from his arm, tore a strip of cloth, soaked it in diesel, and accepted the Zippo Saeko offered.
One flick.
One flame.
One throw.
The burning javelin hit the first drum.
BOOM!!
The explosion slapped the world.
A tsunami of flame rolled upward, devouring vines, cars, and entire lanes of highway. The heat washed over them like an opening furnace door.
Vines shrieked—an eerie, biological scream—curling, burning, collapsing.
Purple pollen ignited like powdered TNT.
The forest began dying in waves.
Chimes filled Su Chen's mind as system messages flickered.
[EXP +10]
[EXP +10]
[EXP +10]
"The path's clearing," he said as calmly as if he'd ordered takeout. "Wait for the flames to settle. Then drive through."
Saya stared at the inferno, speechless. "You… brute-forced an entire ecosystem."
"Optimized," Su Chen corrected.
---
Jinghai University — Gates
An hour later, the truck rolled over the charred remains of the forest and stopped before the University.
To Su Chen's surprise, it was intact.
Fortified.
Guarded.
A sleek wall of crystalline ice sealed the entrance.
"Ice user," Su Chen murmured. "A talented one."
He signaled the team. "We walk from here."
They moved with practiced formation—Su Chen up front, Saeko flanking, Shizuka center, Saya rear guard.
As they approached, someone shouted from above.
"Halt!"
A young woman stood atop a makeshift tower. Blue mist curled from her hands.
[Ye Qingyu — Awakened]
[Talent: Frost Queen (S-Rank)]
Su Chen's gaze sharpened. An S-Rank wild survivor? Rare.
"We're survivors," he called. "Looking for the Library."
"The Library is forbidden!" Ye Qingyu's voice wavered. "It's… it's the Corpse King's nest. Turn around!"
Corpse King?
Treasure.
Evolution material.
Gold-tier drop potential.
"Open the gate."
Ye Qingyu's eyes widened. "You think you can kill the Librarian?"
"I don't think."
His arm twisted, bone and flesh reshaping into an armored claw. A cold ripple of Water Breathing aura followed.
"I hunt."
Ye Qingyu swallowed. Hard.
She flicked her hand. Ice melted like butter.
"Fine," she whispered. "Enter at your own risk."
Su Chen passed her—and brushed his fingers against the gate where her frost lingered.
[Minor Cold Resistance acquired.]
"Thanks," he said softly.
He stepped into the university grounds.
Ahead lay the quiet campus.
The dark Library.
And the King waiting inside.