All the uninjured people immediately gathered together, weapons raised and aimed at the five suspected individuals—one of whom was their security chief.
The security chief panicked. "Huan Tian, look, we haven't turned into zombies. Maybe we're immune! Please, take us with you—we'll do whatever you say!"
The three men behind him nodded repeatedly. At this moment, Huan Tian was their only hope. As long as he didn't order them to die, they were willing to do anything.
"No! We absolutely can't trust them—force them into the corner!"
Wang Susu, now fully dressed, frowned and spoke with firm resolve, leaving no room for negotiation. At the same time, she subtly moved to stand behind Huan Tian—if those people did turn into zombies, being behind him would be safer.
None of the other guards noticed Wang Susu's little maneuver. They just kept echoing her orders, raising their weapons and driving the five into a corner of the office, unknowingly forming a human shield in front of her.
Huan Tian turned around and gave Wang Susu a long look.
When he had just returned from clearing the hallway of zombies, he happened to see Wang Susu smash a zombie and Jiang Qing to death with a crystal ashtray. His pupils involuntarily shrank at the sight.
This woman had been secretly involved with Jiang Qing for three years—who knows how many nights she'd spent beneath him. And yet she didn't show a shred of emotion as she killed him, even doing it after the zombie had already been dealt with.
Now, she was playing these little mind games behind his back.
Decisive, ruthless, vengeful, cold-blooded.
But he had to admit—people like her are the ones who thrive in an apocalypse.
He had underestimated her.
"Don't worry. They really won't turn into zombies. They're safe now."
Huan Tian suddenly spoke, and everyone in the room let out a breath of relief. Though doubts still lingered, the atmosphere eased.
Especially the five men under suspicion—they exhaled deeply on the spot, as if they had just escaped death.
"You five, come here. There are a few things I need to tell you," Huan Tian said.
The five of them eagerly strode forward, their faces lit up with the joy of survival.
"Huan Tian, whatever you want us to do from now on, just say the word!" the security chief said, thumping his chest to show loyalty.
But in the very next second, Huan Tian's hands shot out like lightning!
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
A series of gruesome bone-snapping sounds rang out—less than two seconds later, all five men lay dead, their necks twisted by Huan Tian.
In reality, the "Nightmare Virus" behind this outbreak had merged with rainwater. The concentration of the virus was highest in rain, but since it entered the body through skin absorption, it typically took 2–3 minutes for a person to turn into a zombie.
However, first-generation zombies—those originally infected by the rain—carried a much higher viral load in their blood and saliva. If they bit someone, the virus would enter directly through the wound, and the victim would usually turn into a zombie within 15 seconds.
But if a second-generation zombie (created by being bitten by a first-generation zombie) bit someone, their viral concentration was already much weaker. In such cases, transformation might take 30 minutes or even several hours.
It wasn't until the five bodies hit the ground that everyone else finally snapped out of it. They all gasped in shock, and the slight warmth that had just begun to return to the room was instantly replaced with icy dread.
"Y-You… why did you kill them? Didn't you say they wouldn't turn into zombies?" one of the guards asked, voice trembling.
"Are you stupid? Huan Tian only said that to trick the monsters into lowering their guard. Otherwise, how could he have killed them so cleanly? If I'm right, the more viruses someone's infected with, the longer it takes to turn. That's why they hadn't transformed yet."
Wang Susu strode forward with her long legs, walking like a runway model, exuding an air of dominance. As she spoke, she locked eyes with Huan Tian, unflinching and direct.
She never missed a chance to prove her worth in front of him. It was that same aloof, noble aura of hers that had once drawn Huan Tian in and kept him firmly in her grasp.
But as she reached him, her expression softened. Almost imperceptibly, she bit her lower lip—just slightly.
To most, it would have gone unnoticed. But to Huan Tian, that subtle gesture shifted her entire demeanor—from icy elegance to a sultry, seductive allure.
"Huan Tian, am I right?" Her eyes shimmered with emotion, a hint of tears welling up like a crystal spring, inviting and intoxicating, begging him to lean in and taste her.
To be fair, it was an impeccable performance.
But Huan Tian's eyes remained cold. In the next instant, his right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.
"Huan Tian, wh-what are you doing…"Cough—please, let's talk this out… put me down… cough, cough…"
Wang Susu clawed at his hands, her long legs kicking wildly in the air. Her eyes rolled back as she struggled for air, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.
"Don't play these games with me," Huan Tian said flatly.
"And the rest of you—don't expect me to drag around dead weight."
The security guards instantly turned pale, faces drained of hope.
With a flick of his arm, Huan Tian flung Wang Susu to the floor.
She watched helplessly as he stepped over her. Then suddenly, in a fit of desperation, she screamed and threw herself at his leg, clinging to him like a lifeline.
"Huan Tian! I'll be your woman—I'll sleep with you right here, right now! I'll do anything, any position, I don't care. Please, just take me with you… I'm begging you. I can't survive without you!"
As Wang Susu spoke, she began tearing at her clothes. But before she could even get her jacket open, she felt something cold and hard press against her forehead.
"I'm not killing you," Huan Tian's voice was as cold as ice, "because I want you to stay alive and experience the terror of the apocalypse firsthand—not to keep watching you put on these disgusting performances in front of me."
"Now, get lost."
Wang Susu collapsed to the ground. She had used every trick she could think of, believing she could win her way back to Huan Tian's side. But to her shock, he was utterly merciless.
"No… it's not like this… it can't be…"
She wrapped her arms around her head, mumbling in a trembling voice. At that moment, her entire world crumbled.
Without sparing her another glance, Huan Tian stepped past her. Under the horrified gazes of those around him, he grabbed a fruit knife from a nearby security guard, pulled on a pair of disposable gloves he had found, and walked directly into the hallway. Without hesitation, he began dissecting the corpse of a zombie.
"Ugh—"
Everyone else recoiled in horror. Several people dropped to their knees on the spot and began retching. The way they looked at Huan Tian now was filled with nothing but fear.
Huan Tian ignored their reactions completely. In no time, he extracted several fingernail-sized blue crystals from different parts of the corpse.
Nightmare Virus Crystals.
These crystals were similar to tumors formed by viral erosion—organic substances produced in the body of every creature infected by the Nightmare Virus.
Newly infected creatures were classified as Tier One, the lowest level. At that stage, the virus crystals inside them were scattered and unformed. But starting at Tier Two, the crystals would begin to merge into a singular, more cohesive structure. The higher the creature's tier, the larger and more complete the fused crystal became.
These things were incredibly dangerous—but also immensely valuable.
In his previous life, every Nightmare Virus vaccine, genetic enhancement serum, and even some high-powered weapons had relied on these crystals as core materials.
And the energy they contained was no joke.
It had once been calculated that a single Tier One crystal could release energy equivalent to that of three bullets of the same mass. A Tier Five Nightmare Crystal, fully discharged, could destroy an entire city district with ease.
"If an Eighth-Tier Nightmare Virus Crystal were to unleash its full energy, even a nuclear bomb would pale in comparison!
There's no denying that the research into Nightmare Crystals sparked humanity's seventh technological revolution!"