Chapter 35: A Sudden Turn of Events

It seems… I’ve found something!

Ye Feng’s eyes lit up involuntarily. He didn't care about the filth; he reached out directly to grope through the debris. After a few moments of searching, he pulled out a hard object.

With a thought, Ye Feng retrieved a bottle of mineral water from his storage space and cleaned the object off. A crystal-clear core, about the size of a thumb, was revealed before his eyes.

"A crystal core! It really is a crystal core!"

Ye Feng’s face beamed with joy. He could sense a surge of absorbable energy emanating from within it.

"Phew!" Ye Feng let out a long, heavy breath. He could finally absorb crystal cores to increase his strength!

Generally speaking, crystal cores are divided into ordinary cores and special cores. In a few days, when the zombies collectively evolve to the first rank, the cores they produce will be first-rank ordinary cores. When a mutant zombie evolves to the first rank, the core it produces is a first-rank special core. Special cores not only contain more energy, but they also possess unique properties.

For an ability user to level up, they must first raise their internal energy reserves to the limit, known as the Seven-Star level. Only after reaching the Seven-Star level can an ability user hope to break through the human shackles and advance to the next rank by absorbing a special core.

"Since there is a crystal core here, does that mean the mutant zombie pig I just killed had already reached the first rank?" Ye Feng’s gaze flickered, lost in thought. After a long while, he shook his head. "Regardless, this core can be used to increase my strength or to break through to the next rank!"

With a joyful expression, Ye Feng tucked the core into his storage space. Whether or not to absorb it immediately was a decision for tonight.

Now, it was time to reap the rewards!

Ye Feng stepped into the slaughterhouse’s storage room. Entering the main gate, he scanned the area. The massive cold storage facility was lined with rows of large freezers. Each one was packed to the brim with various frozen meats—pork, beef, mutton—all sorted, labeled, and in staggering quantities!

"Wow!"

"As expected of the largest slaughterhouse in Jiangcheng; the reserves are truly abundant!" Ye Feng marveled.

With a single thought, he began to rapidly collect the frozen meat. Wherever his gaze fell, *whoosh!* Countless tons of frozen meat, along with the freezers containing them, were sucked into Ye Feng’s storage space.

"Collect! Collect! Collect!"

Ye Feng wore a grin of pure delight. "This feels great!"

He moved swiftly through the entire cold storage workshop. A quarter of an hour later, he had completely cleaned out the place. His harvest was incredibly bountiful: a total of 5,400 tons of frozen pork, 1,200 tons of frozen beef, and 800 tons of frozen mutton. This was more meat than Ye Feng could eat in a hundred lifetimes.

"This haul is a massive jackpot!"

***

Ye Feng left the slaughterhouse, his face still brimming with excitement.

Stepping outside, he retrieved his truck from storage, preparing to depart. Just then, he paused slightly. Not far away, a zombie cat with sharp claws and glowing green eyes was ravaging a bird’s nest in a tree.

Without a second thought, Ye Feng drew his pistol and pulled the trigger.

*Bang!*

The bullet flew true, and the zombie cat dropped to the ground instantly!

Ye Feng dashed forward to the base of the willow tree. Of the original brood in the nest, only one fledgling remained. To be precise, it was a pinkish sparrow chick. The bald, reddish fledgling looked exceptionally ugly. Ye Feng glanced around, but found no sign of the adult sparrows.

"Its mother must be dead," Ye Feng thought silently. If he left it alone, the fledgling would certainly die in the current environment.

"I suppose this is fate," Ye Feng said with a small smile. He reached out and carefully picked up the little sparrow, cupping it in his palm. In his past life, some powerful individuals had tamed formidable mutant beasts as subordinates. With his own "cheat" ability, perhaps he could raise a few himself.

***

On the highway, Ye Feng hummed a tune, driving his heavy-duty truck at full speed.

"In this mundane world, a man must be fearless..."
"Success or failure, one must face it with composure..."

Half an hour had passed, and Ye Feng had entered the city. The little sparrow, bolstered by one of Ye Feng’s "Divine Blessings," looked lively and energetic. It couldn't chirp yet, but it was currently pacing back and forth on the passenger seat of the truck.

"I should give the little sparrow a name... what would be good?"

Just then, the unexpected happened.

*Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!*

A flurry of urgent gunfire erupted.

*Crack!*

The windshield of Ye Feng’s truck shattered instantly! At the same time, the truck began to swerve wildly, like a wild horse that had broken its reins.

"Damn it! A blown tire!"

Ye Feng calmly gripped the steering wheel, pumping the brakes to force the truck to a stop on the side of the road. It was fortunate he had master-level driving skills; otherwise, he would have surely flipped.

Once the truck was steady, Ye Feng glanced at the passenger seat, his expression turning grim.

His bird... had been blown apart.

The sparrow fledgling had been struck by one of the bullets, its body shattered into a bloody mess. Ye Feng’s heart sank. Could it still be alive after such damage? He leaned over to check... as expected, his gaze turned icy.

The sparrow was stone-dead.

"Damn those bastards!" Ye Feng jumped out of the truck, his face livid. He didn't know where the bullets had come from, but they had not only destroyed his tires and windshield—they had also killed his bird!

"This is absolutely unforgivable!"

Fury burned in Ye Feng’s heart. He hadn't provoked anyone; he hadn't bothered a soul.

"Who is it? I will drag you out and tear you to shreds!" His eyes were filled with monstrous rage.

Judging by the bullet holes in the tires, Ye Feng quickly determined that the attackers were hiding in one of the buildings along the road. However, there were several buildings on that side, and they were occupied by a significant number of survivors. Pinpointing the shooter would not be easy.

Even so, Ye Feng quickly formulated a plan. With a thought, he stowed the heavy truck into his storage space. His figure flashed, turning into a blur as he sprinted toward the tallest building.

***

Inside the building, in one of the rooms, a young man holding a gun trembled slightly, his face pale.

"Damn it, I think he's an ability user!"
"We're in big trouble now!"

The other youths in the room looked equally panicked.

"What do we do now?"
"I'm so scared!"
"Screw this... I'm going to find my brother..." The young man left those words behind and bolted out the door, leaving his lackeys staring at each other in confusion.

***

Meanwhile, Ye Feng had already reached the ground floor. He bent his legs slightly, pushed off with a leap, and vaulted directly into an apartment on the 8th floor.

The apartment was empty. Ye Feng narrowed his eyes. With his enhanced hearing and mental detection, a flood of information rushed into his mind.

"Mom, I'm hungry..."
"You good-for-nothing idiot..."
"Why was I so blind to marry you..."

Ye Feng began to systematically filter through the noise, collecting information.

The first household: an elderly couple—cleared.
The second household: a fat shut-in—cleared.
The third household: empty...