Chapter 17 - First Life Or Death Battle (Part 2)

While it was true that the Great Mutated Cat was faster, and the mist, the sound of thunder, as well as the constant rain, blocked Bai Zemin's senses, except for its speed and sharp claws the terror of this mutated beast could not compare to the Great Fast Mantis level 25.

The Great Fast Mantis possessed two forelegs that were like two huge scythes capable of holding Bai Zemin's Xuanyuan Sword, which was a Rare grade Treasure, for a certain period of time. In addition, the battle instincts of the Great Fast Mantis were much greater than those of the Great Mutated Cat.

Furthermore, the Bai Zemin at that time was much weaker than the one who fought against the Great Mutated Cat. As if all of the above were not enough, the Great Mutated Cat had been seriously injured by Bai Zemin's earlier kick. After all, the cat was a creature that specialized in agility but whose defense was lacking so when Bai Zemin's 50+ strength points came into contact with the beast's weak body, several internal organs probably suffered the consequences, lowering the creature's threat by a considerable margin.

After making sure there was no danger nearby, Bai Zemin crouched down and picked up a red orb that had fallen from the monster's body before quickly putting it away in his backpack.

Bai Zemin did not delay and continued moving towards his destination.

After another five minutes in which more than twenty zombies perished by decapitation at Bai Zemin's hands, he finally saw the small building where medicines and other medical-related items were kept.

Bai Zemin kicked open the door and a shadow shot out towards him.

The shadow's speed was slightly above a normal person before the world changed and would probably be the doom of any other human being. Even an evolved person could fall as the attack was too sudden.

However, Bai Zemin was currently eight times faster than a normal person before the arrival of the apocalypse. His reaction speed had become simply dreadful and his guard was always up so in the face of the sudden attack he did not panic.

Taking a step back, Bai Zemin kicked forward with all his might. His foot struck the shadow's chest, however, surprisingly, the shadow was not sent flying after being hit and only retreated a couple of steps.

Bai Zemin was astonished. With his 55 Strength points, that previous kick could easily kill a person after being hit in the chest.

The shadow was actually a huge zombie.

The zombie was over 2 meters tall and its body was surrounded by fat that acted as a protective layer. Its two bloodshot eyes glared at Bai Zemin with fury as if it could feel pain and quickly charged towards him.

The giant zombie's fist was slow in Bai Zemin's eyes. He took a step to the left at the same time as he kicked the zombie's front foot.

The giant zombie, losing its supporting foot and with its forward momentum, fell heavily creating a small bang when its body hit the ground.

Bai Zemin advanced quickly and instead of decapitating the creature, he stabbed with his sword directly into its brain. That way, although blood would flow out of the wound, it would not shoot out like a fountain.

[You have acquired the Soul Power of Zombie Wall Breaker level 20. Strength +10, Stamina +10, Health +10].

Although Bai Zemin was surprised that he didn't level up even once, his attention was soon drawn to a skill scroll.

[Health Boost (Unclassified passive skill) Level 3: After learning this skill, it permanently increases Health by +20 points].

"Oh! This is good!" Bai Zemin was excited and quickly decided to learn the skill scroll in his hands.

A passive skill that increased stats was no different from obtaining Soul Power from another living being. Moreover, considering that the boost was of 20 points, not just any insignificant creature would give such an amount of Soul Power.

Bai Zemin couldn't help but wonder if Liang Peng had obtained a similar skill to boost his strength stat. Although he did not believe that his strength was in any way weaker and, in fact, he was confident in surpassing him, it was truly amazing that in such a short time Liang Peng could lift and wield a hammer that clearly weighed over 200 kilograms as if it was nothing.

The pharmacy was a multi-story building. However, Bai Zemin had no intention of inspecting the entire building.

The first thing he did was to fill his backpack with fever medicine, cold medicine, medicine to relieve stomach pain, even medicine for muscle pain, and some vitamin pills. Ten minutes later, his backpack was filled with boxes containing all kinds of basic but essential medicine for any human being.

Next, he found several plastic bags and then began to inspect the shelves one by one.

As Bai Zemin searched for gauze, band aids, alcohol, and other types of first aid utilities, he even kept a syringe and some doses of morphine that could be useful in emergencies. But, suddenly, a wild idea that he had been ignoring until now flashed in his mind.

"Lilith... Don't tell me... Don't tell me that viruses also evolve with mana..."

If viruses also evolved, then not only was everything he was currently doing pointless, but countless people would die from now on due to diseases. In fact, it was likely that more deaths would be caused by diseases and not by other savage monsters.

Fortunately, Lilith's next words eased his worries.

"You need not worry. Single-celled organisms such as viruses cannot resist mana and their evolutive process is extremely limited so the world's mana directly ignores them."

Bai Zemin unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. If the case was as he had assumed, then he would have no choice but to find his family quickly and help them evolve so that their bodies would become more resilient.

As for the rest of the people, Bai Zemin did not think about it. He did not even notice this fact and acted as if his thoughts were normal.

Unknown to him, the effect of the skill he still considered useless was changing his perspective of the world little by little.

After filling several bags with all sorts of items needed to provide first aid, Bai Zemin took out the red orb to see what it contained.

[Piercing Glove (Normal Treasure): Attacks performed with this weapon allow the user to pierce through the defense of almost any enemy below level 25. When equipped, Strength +5].

This gauntlet was odd in that a thirty centimeter spike protruded from the tip where the knuckles should be by default. Although +5 Strength points was not as amazing as the increase of other items he had acquired so far, it was free power increase so Bai Zemin equipped the glove with pleasure.

Suddenly the ground began to shake slightly and Bai Zemin quickly realized that this was not caused by the storm.

"What is that...?"

As he approached a window, the fog seemed to be disappearing in some parts. However, the strangest thing of all was that instead of fog, a dense cloud of vapor was slowly ascending into the sky. Also, as if a giant was slowly advancing, the ground was constantly vibrating and the buildings were shaking lightly.

"Bai Zemin."

As he watched the environmental change outside the window and prepared to leave the building for fear of its collapse, Lilith's serious voice sounded beside him.

When Bai Zemin turned around to look at her and, for the first time since he met her, he saw a grave and even a little anxious expression on her face.

Lilith looked out the window and warned: "You'd better get ready because this could be your first life and death battle... If you win, you will undoubtedly become stronger... If you lose, then your path can only end here."