Yangfan looked at his phone and cursed under his breath.
"Fuck, the signal's cut off!"
He shoved the phone back into his pocket and turned his gaze toward the darkening sky. A storm rumbled above, and the heavy pressure in the air sent a chill down his spine. He clenched his fists.
"QingXue survived last time... If I move fast enough, I can make it in time."
His eyes fell on the golden ring wrapped around his middle finger. A faint glow pulsed from it, dimming and brightening in rhythm.
"The ring has been triggered… that means a trader is nearby."
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"God is really looking out for me."
Following the ring's glow, Yangfan made his way through the streets, avoiding the already spreading chaos. Each step brought him closer to an old building with a large pink sign that read "ZEN BU LAI BATHHOUSE."
He frowned.
"Our school's female bathhouse?"
Ignoring the odd location, he pushed the door open and walked in. The dimly lit space smelled of moisture and cheap air fresheners.
Just as he stepped past the first row of stalls, a sudden rustling sound caught his attention.
"Hnnnngh…"
A figure was crouched on the floor, hunched over, moving in an unnatural way.
"Hm?"
The red-haired girl slowly turned her head toward him, revealing her pale face, bloodshot eyes, and quivering lips.
"Raaawrrr!!"
With an inhuman screech, she lunged at him, her mouth open wide, ready to bite.
Yangfan barely blinked.
"Nice body," he muttered to himself. "But that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."
Behind him, a glass case labeled "Break in case of emergency" held an axe. Without hesitation, he drove his elbow through the glass, grabbed the red axe, and swung it in a clean arc.
Shing!
The girl's head flew off her shoulders, blood splattering against the stall doors. Her body collapsed, motionless.
Yangfan exhaled, stepping over the corpse. A faint glow caught his eye—embedded on her forehead was a gray crystal.
He bent down, plucking the stone free.
"We can't waste any of these crystals. Even if it's the lowest grade, every little bit helps." He clenched it in his palm. "Every little bit counts. I have to get stronger fast if I want to protect my family."
Just then—
"Shua!"
A strange hum echoed through the bathroom.
Yangfan snapped his head toward the corner, his eyes narrowing at the gray-robed figure that shimmered with a faint blue aura.
A smirk played on his lips.
"Finally, I've found you."
This was no ordinary person. This was a mysterious trader—one of the figures that had appeared after the apocalypse.
"In my last life, it took me three months to find the first trader… this time, I found one in less than a day."
The traders were ranked by the colors of their robes: gray, orange, yellow, green, light blue, red, white, gold, and black—each level offering better equipment and rarer trades.
Yangfan stepped forward, holding out the gray crystal.
"Trade begins."
In an instant, the world around him twisted. The bathroom vanished, replaced by an infinite void filled with floating cards—each one glowing with energy.
He grinned.
"Just like before… all I have to do is bring the stone near the merchant and I can trade."
As he examined the cards, he muttered, "The discount for owning the ring is still here. But… does the weekly upgrade function still work?"
Holding up his fist, he aimed the golden ring at the merchant.
"Let's try…"
A sudden burst of golden light erupted from the ring.
"Shuo!"
A card shot out from the void, hovering before him.
"Epic-grade hammer?" His eyes widened in surprise.
Before he could consider the trade, the void shattered, and he was back in the bathroom.
"Trade ended."
"Tsk," Yang Fan clicked his tongue. "Even with the discount, I still can't afford that hammer. I need more crystals."
Just as he was about to leave—
"AHHH!!"
A scream rang out from a nearby room.
Yangfan's head snapped toward the sound.
"Huh? There are survivors?"
He pushed open a nearby door and found two girls.
One had blue hair, glasses, and a ponytail, wrapped in a green bath towel, trembling as she held a small knife. The other had redhair, loose and damp, dressed only in underwear, shielding the blue-haired girl with one arm.
They were cornered by a female zombie, slowly staggering toward them.
The blue-haired girl stammered, "D-don't come near me!"
The red-haired girl gritted her teeth.
"Wang Xiong, if you take another step… I won't go easy on you!"
Shing!
Before she could act, a crimson blur flashed past them.
Yangfan's axe swung down in a single, decisive stroke—cleanly beheading the zombie.
The red-haired girl gasped.
"You… you just killed someone!"
Yang Fan frowned.
"Shut up. That wasn't a person—it was a zombie. If I hadn't stepped in, you two would be dead."
The blue-haired girl clutched her towel tighter.
"Z-zombie…?"
The red-haired girl turned to check the corpse.
"Wang Xiong… was she bitten?" She sighed in relief. "Thank God you were here."
Then, she turned back to Yangfan, placing a hand on her hip.
"Thanks for saving us. I'm Yue," she said with a nod. "And this is Mu Yu."
He nods and says, "Hello, I'm Yang Fan."
The blue-haired girl was still in shock, mumbling, "Zombie…? What… what's going on…?"
Yang Fan stared at them, his mind racing.
"So, it's them. What a coincidence…"
In his past life, they became the ace of Bloody Rose Base— Yue, a Godly Shooter feared by all. Mu yu, on the other hand, was a biochemist doctor capable of concocting powerful medicines.
"Meeting them so early… this could be useful."
Just then—
"ARGHHH!!"
A bloodcurdling screech came from behind him.
Yue and Mumu's eyes widened—
Yangfan felt the breath of something cold behind him.
The rotten stench filled his nose.
Yang Fan turned just in time to see a zombie lunging straight for his neck.