Yan Yue hunched over, hands on her knees, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Yang Fan… I can't run anymore," she panted. "My head is dizzy…"
Yang Fan, still slicing through zombies with his axe, rushed over to her. He grabbed her wrist, checking it over and over. His eyes darkened. "You got infected!"
Yan Yue's breath hitched. "What?! I don't want to turn into a walking corpse! You might as well kill me now!"
Without another word, Yang Fan hoisted her onto his back.
"Uh?" She tensed, flustered.
"Don't worry," he said firmly. "If you become a zombie, I'll kill you without mercy. But it's not over yet—you can still be saved."
Holding her securely, he thought to himself, 'Yan Yue's condition is serious. Also, I haven't evolved to the first order yet. I need to return to the female bathhouse to evolve and to save her'
He started running, dodging zombies as he moved. Glancing back, he called out, "Duan Mu Yi! Keep up!"
Mu Yi, panting, forced herself to move faster. "I… have to keep up… with Yan Yue…"
They finally reached the bathhouse. Yang Fan kicked the door open, rushing inside where the gray-robed trader stood.
Yan Yue was barely conscious now, her breathing shallow. She wobbled, feeling lightheaded.
'Ahhh, everything's spinning…'
Mu Yi caught her by the shoulders. "Yan Yue! Are you okay?"
Yang Fan quickly laid her down on a bench. "No time! Hand over all the crystal cores you collected!"
Mu Yi hesitated for a moment but then handed them over.
'What does he need them for? Can crystal cores really save Yan Yue?'
Yang Fan grabbed the cores and hurried to the trader. Yan Yue, still fighting the dizziness, forced herself to focus.
'Who is that guy in the gray robe? Why is someone still here in the female bathhouse?'
Yang Fan clutched the cores, calculating. 'These are barely enough…'
He stepped closer to the trader, and the moment he activated the trade, a robotic voice echoed—
"Trading activated."
And in an instant—Yang Fan vanished.
Both girls gasped in shock. "Huh?! Where did he go?"
Yan Yue's chest tightened.
'Did he… abandon me? Am I going to become a zombie?'
—
Meanwhile, inside the trading dimension, Yang Fan examined the floating trading cards. One displayed a bottle of water.
'It's only been a day since the apocalypse started, and water already costs four gray crystals? These traders are worse than loan sharks'
He shifted his focus to another card—a first-order evolution potion.
'Good. This is what I need.'
Without hesitation, he selected both items. "I'll take a vial of first-order evolution potion and a bottle of water."
A notification appeared:
"After discount, 44 gray crystals were used and I've only 60 gray crystals left!"
The cards vanished, and suddenly, the items appeared in the trader's hands.
Yang Fan grabbed the evolution potion and drank it. His body tensed as a surge of power coursed through him. His muscles tightened, his senses sharpened—he had officially evolved into a Level 1 human.
Clenching his fists, he exhaled.
'In my past life, I missed my chance to grow stronger early on and ended up as Xiao Ao's subordinate. The ring's power was never fully realized, and I could only watch helplessly as my loved ones died.'
'Not this time. No one will touch even a single hair on them.'
He took the water and carefully purified it with his ring, thinking,
'Yan Yue and Duan Mu Yi still aren't completely trustworthy. I'll keep the purification ability of the ring a secret for now.'
A robotic voice rang out:
"Transaction complete."
And just like that—he was back in the bathhouse.
Yan Yue lay motionless on the bench, her breathing ragged. Mu Yi was kneeling beside her, watching over her anxiously.
Yang Fan strode over. "How is Yan Yue?"
Mu Yi whipped around, her eyes widening. 'Yang Fan?! He suddenly appeared again?'
"Come check for yourself," she said, voice trembling. "She… she's already unconscious…"
Yang Fan knelt beside Yan Yue, his eyes narrowing at the wound on her arm. The veins were darkened, spreading under her skin like creeping vines. She took short, shallow breaths, her body drenched in sweat.
"Not good," he muttered. "She's about to mutate!"
Mu Yi's eyes widened in horror when she heard what he said. She clapped both hands over her mouth, tears welling up.
He clenched his jaw.
'It's too late. No other choice!'
Taking a deep breath, he uncapped the bottle and took a swig of the purified water.
Yang Fan leaned down—
And pressed his lips against Yan Yue's.
Mu Yi's breath hitched seeing this, she covered her eyes, peeking through the gaps of her fingers.
'Is… is he kissing her?!'
But when she looked closer, she saw the water trickling from his mouth into Yan Yue's.
—
Yang Fan frowned slightly.
'She's unconscious, and her teeth are clenched shut. A lot of purified water is spilling out…'
Moments passed.
Yan Yue's breathing steadied. The black veins on her arm slowly faded, her skin returning to normal.
Her eyes fluttered open.
The first thing she saw—was Yang Fan's face inches from hers.
Her mind blanked.
"What…?"
She pushed him away, cheeks burning red. "Yang Fan! That's how you saved me?!"
Yang Fan wiped his mouth, unfazed. "You were unconscious. How else was I supposed to give you the medicine? Since you're awake, drink the rest yourself."
Before she could respond, Mu Yi threw herself onto Yan Yue, sobbing.
"Yan Yue! You scared me! If Yang Fan hadn't saved you in time, you would've turned into a zombie!"
Yan Yue, still a little disoriented, patted Mu Yi's back. "Sorry for worrying you…"
Then, she turned to Yang Fan. "Wait…didn't you just disappeared. Where did you go?"
Mu Yi wiped her tears and stood up again.
"It must be related to that gray-robed guy. When Yang Fan got close to him, he vanished, and then he suddenly appeared again with water!"
Yang Fan crossed his arms. "You're sharp. That's a trader. They appeared after the apocalypse began. As long as you bring a crystal core near them, you can start trading."
Yan Yue's eyes lit up. "A transaction system? That's amazing! You traded our cores for a bottle of water? That must've cost a lot. I'll kill more zombies in the future and repay you!"
Yang Fan turned, heading for the door. "Don't bother. Let's go. You wasted enough of my time."