Apocalyptic Changes

After just one night, countless friends and relatives, even bedmates and children, would turn into Zombies, without warning, without a transition process. Perhaps they would even be bitten to death by a Zombie in their sleep... This was probably the most peaceful way to die.

As for those with Ability potential, they had to endure more hardships and tribulations.

Perhaps to add a touch of despair to the Apocalypse, before Abilities manifested, those with latent Abilities would suffer from continuous high fevers. The stronger the Ability, the more severe and prolonged the fever.

But upon opening their eyes, they had to face Zombie attacks. In their panic and fear, people simply had no time to think, making it very difficult to realize the true meaning of this fever.

Many Ability Users, weakened by high fever, were abandoned by their relatives in their hasty escape, and had to face Zombies like tigers stalking their prey, with almost no hope of survival.

Some even believed that high fever was a sign of turning into a Zombie, doing everything they could to hunt down latent Ability Users.

Humanity lost a large amount of valuable combat power right at the beginning of the Apocalypse.

A few months later, when Ability Users gradually understood their special powers, plants and animals would also slowly begin to mutate, preying on humans, making the already dire survival situation even worse.

Until the protagonist, Huo Ze, who acted modestly in the early stages, rose up amidst everyone's despair, gradually establishing forces and bases, winning every battle against waves of Zombies, saving all beings from the inferno...

As for the connection between Ye Xing Zhi and Huo Ze, it would appear at the original plot location.

If Ye Xing Zhi hadn't taken sick leave from his company before, he would now be participating in a new film project, holding its launch ceremony on a mountaintop in the neighboring City B.

The next day, everyone in the film crew would unfortunately turn into Zombies, all annihilated by the protagonist.

The Zombie Energy Cores in their heads would also become rich nutrients to help the protagonist consolidate his Abilities.

That's right, Huo Ze was the child of destiny, the first to discover the use of Energy Cores in the book.

Thinking of this, Ye Xing Zhi immediately mobilized his Spiritual Energy and surveyed his surroundings.

Very good, he would absolutely not turn into a Zombie, and his geographical location was also far from the protagonist.

His Foundation Establishment Stage strength was enough for Ye Xing Zhi to openly confront the original plot without needing to use the power of his Soul. At least, the initial looters and arsonists of the Apocalypse would absolutely not be able to disturb him; he still had many peaceful days to live.

Ye Xing Zhi lowered his eyes in satisfaction, his Spiritual Power probing into his Spatial Ring, taking out his usual Alchemy furnace. Then, he used Divine Sense to transmit a message to his little dog, telling it to go to the herb garden and pick him a few Purple Spirit Herbs.

The little Golden Retriever happily ran off to work, while the chubby white dog was bravely competing for food with the rooster, making a racket in a corner of the courtyard.

The house grew increasingly lively. Ye Xing Zhi's lips curled slightly, but he did not intervene.

After all, he had already reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, and the herb garden was planted. Now, he didn't want to do anything; he just wanted to refine a hundred Grain Abstinence Pills first.

*

Time flew by; three days later, late at night.

Ye Xing Zhi couldn't help himself and refined 500 Grain Abstinence Pills.

In the past, besides cultivation, his greatest hobbies were Artifact Refining and Alchemy, and he was extremely talented in them. Therefore, from childhood to adulthood, he was always "the child of another family" in the Cultivation World.

The flames danced obediently on his fingertips, like countless dangerous yet gentle little snakes. This clear sense of control always captivated him.

But this time, he had truly refined too many. One Grain Abstinence Pill a day, perhaps before he even finished eating them all, Ye Xing Zhi would be able to smoothly break through to the Deity Transformation Stage, no longer needing to eat any grains.

He admired the shiny little porcelain flask in his hand, thinking that he would see how things were then; perhaps he could share them with those who lacked food and clothing... But this would also bring him a lot of trouble.

Ye Xing Zhi told himself he wasn't a kind person. Whether here or in the Cultivation World, he had never truly integrated, nor was he like a great hero who would stand up to do earth-shattering deeds of righteousness. The fate of the Lone Star of Calamity was never wrong.

But before, as long as he sat still, the Demonic Race would forever not dare to invade the Cultivation World; fate had helped him accumulate a lot of merit.

The result was that this merit had caused him to be struck down by the Heavenly Dao and sent back to his "hometown."

Recalling the past, Ye Xing Zhi's expression instantly darkened. He silently put all the Grain Abstinence Pills into his Spatial Ring, preparing to continue his peaceful and good cultivation life.

But at this very moment—

"Cluck—!"

"Woof woof woof!"

"Quack! Quack quack quack!"

The animals in the front and back courtyards cried out in unison, like a noisy four-part symphony, as if resisting an invading enemy.

Ye Xing Zhi couldn't help but rub his temples, his Divine Sense probing towards the Spirit Gathering Array.

It seemed that a living person had fallen from the mountain into the small stream...

He did not bring the furiously ruffled rooster with him. He left the room alone, slowly walking towards the small stream, his aura completely contained, hidden in the deep night.

This small stream was very enchanting; it looked clear to the bottom, but in reality, it was deeper than what the naked eye could see. Even an adult man falling in would struggle to touch the bottom.

The young man who fell into the water seemed to be suffering from a high fever, rendering his entire body weak. He floated and sank with the current, his thin shirt clinging to his trembling body, vaguely revealing skin that twitched slightly.

The stream water late at night was extremely cold; if he kept soaking like this, he would catch a cold.

Ye Xing Zhi did not immediately intervene to help, only staring at him with a puzzled expression.

This person also seemed not to beg for help. He pursed his lips tightly, using his last bit of strength to grasp the weeds by the stream, struggling to crawl ashore, then curled up on the spot from exhaustion.

His right hand still clutched the weeds, refusing to let go, while his left hand pressed tightly against the bleeding wound on his abdomen. His pale lips were also stained with blood.

With just a sweep of his Divine Sense, Ye Xing Zhi immediately knew that there was absolutely no Zombie virus on him, so the wound on his abdomen must have been caused by a human.

He had a very strong will to survive, an extremely firm spirit. Just now, he had probably gone through a mutually destructive battle, and he still had a usable pistol hidden in his pants pocket.

The Apocalypse had only just begun, and humanity was already fighting amongst themselves to this extent?

No, that's not right...

When he carefully swept his Divine Sense over the young man's face, Ye Xing Zhi suddenly froze.

This person was Huo Ze, the sole protagonist of this book.

From the very beginning, the Heavenly Dao had shown Ye Xing Zhi a picture of Huo Ze with a very kind attitude, so he recognized him at a glance.

This was illogical.

Huo Ze should currently be in City B, frantically absorbing Energy Cores, yet he was severely injured like this, and still running a high fever!

The dual Abilities in his body flickered in and out, clearly not having absorbed enough Energy Cores, and his state was very unstable, which instead made Huo Ze even weaker.

Ye Xing Zhi absolutely did not believe that his absence could cause such a major change in the plot.

Then the biggest variable at hand must be Huo Ze.

This person had a problem.

Ye Xing Zhi observed the young man trembling on the ground with a scrutinizing attitude. He still hadn't discovered anything unusual, then he saw his wet eyelashes trembling slightly in the dark.

His dark eyes merged with the night, always filled with vigilance and ferocity, and a trace of inexplicable joy.

For some reason, Ye Xing Zhi's palm suddenly felt strangely hot.

It was that thread of karmic destiny, heating up inexplicably again.

In truth, Ye Xing Zhi wasn't very skilled in divination; he had only read about it by chance. But at this moment, he didn't hesitate to pinch his fingers and cast a hexagram.

The result was that as his thumb touched his index finger, a roar suddenly echoed in Ye Xing Zhi's ear: "He is your fated partner!"

After saying that, the Heavenly Dao, which had always been silent in this world, immediately fled.

Ye Xing Zhi: "..."

Ye Xing Zhi took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. He was silent for a long time, finally giving up on thinking.

He expressionlessly unleashed a burst of Spiritual Power, knocking Huo Ze unconscious on the ground, showing no mercy.

Perhaps his initial suspicion was correct.

Perhaps, until now, he was still trapped in some Heart Demon illusion.

It must be so!