Huan Tian carefully used the tip of his knife to pick up the blue crystals, placing them one by one into the resealable plastic bag in his hand. Each zombie yielded at most five crystals; the rest were too small and worthless.
The second one, the third, the fourth...
After finishing the dissection of all fifteen zombies, Huan Tian had collected seventy-five fingernail-sized Nightmare Virus Crystals.
[Detected: 75 Tier-1 Nightmare Virus Crystals. Can be bound and crafted into Desert Eagle Nightmare Rounds. Conversion ratio 1:1. Crafting 10 Nightmare Rounds consumes 1 Demon Hunting Point. Proceed with crafting?]
"Craft fifty."
He didn't use them all—he had other plans for the remaining crystals.
[50 Nightmare Rounds crafted. Demon Hunting Points consumed: 5. Remaining: 9.]
The number of crystals in his hand instantly dropped to twenty-five, while his system inventory gained fifty Desert Eagle bullets glowing with a faint blue light.
Huan Tian picked up one between his fingers and examined it closely, a slow smile forming on his lips.
Nightmare Rounds crafted from the virus were larger than standard bullets and far deadlier against mutants. While the difference wasn't obvious against low-tier mutants, their effectiveness became increasingly pronounced at higher levels.
In his previous life, Huan Tian had been the very first to have the bold idea of crafting ammunition from Nightmare Crystals.
No one understood them better than he did. Even by the strictest standards of his past life, these system-crafted Nightmare Rounds were top-tier.
A Tier-1 zombie's hardened skull might withstand ordinary bullets, but it stood no chance against these.
He replaced all standard Desert Eagle rounds with the special ammo, then retrieved two empty magazines from the drawer and loaded them full. Altogether, he now had three magazines with twenty-one Nightmare Rounds—more than enough for what lay ahead.
Originally, he'd planned to store the Desert Eagle in the system inventory, but a gun vanishing into thin air would raise suspicion. More importantly, the gun itself offered strong deterrence—its presence alone gave him greater leverage in dealing with those around him.
After weighing his options, Huan Tian decided to keep it holstered at his waist for now, planning to stow it away once he left the area.
At this point, Huan Tian already had a fruit knife, a Desert Eagle, and fifty Nightmare Rounds—but he knew full well that it was far from enough.
He continued his preparations.
Huan Tian rummaged through all the books on the shelf, then pulled Jiang Qing's fishing rod from beside it. He selected two softcover books of moderate thickness and just the right length, then tightly bound them to his left arm using the sturdy fishing line. The makeshift armor extended from his wrist to an inch past his elbow.
Next, he used the fruit knife to pry off a large decorative sheet of metal from the cabinet door. With force, he bent it into a shape that could cover the outer side of his elbow. After securing both ends with fishing line, he folded the edges of the metal inward, pressing down on the knots to prevent them from being bitten through in a fight.
It was a crude, improvised arm guard—one that could even serve as a small shield if necessary.
As soon as he stood up, the others finally snapped out of their daze and rushed forward like madmen, scrambling to snatch up whatever materials were left. But by now, usable supplies were few and far between. What each person grabbed was broken or worthless, and the despair on their faces only deepened.
Standing off to the side, the bald deputy security captain held only two flimsy magazines in his hands. He hadn't even managed to get a piece of fishing line. A cold glint of malice flashed in his eyes as he stared at the Desert Eagle bulging from Huan Tian's waistband—his gaze filled with greed.
"Xiaokai, come here," he said in a low voice to a skinny man about a meter away.
"Baldy bro… You know it's not exactly the best time. Whatever you want to say, just say it—I'm listening,"
The guard named Xiaokai put on a flattering smile as he inched closer, but only took two steps before stopping. He even deliberately stuffed the fishing line and electric baton into his coat, hiding them tightly.
"Fuck, even he's guarding against me."
Baldy cursed inwardly, though not a hint of anger showed on his face.
"No problem. Just go get our guys. I've got something to say to everyone."
The people huddled in the corner heard his words, and their faces instantly went pale.
"You want to take Huan Tian's gun? No way. You might not be afraid to die, but we are!"
"I don't want to die."
"I can't do this, Baldy. You'd better ask someone else."
Baldy silently cursed every one of them for being spineless cowards.
"You're afraid of him? What about the zombies outside? You saw how the captain died. Those stun batons in your hands are useless. If we want to survive, we need a gun."
His voice dropped lower, each word laced with cold urgency.
"Don't forget how we used to treat Huan Tian. You think that man is going to protect us? Dream on. The only ones who can protect us… are ourselves."
The others began to lift their heads, a flicker of light stirring in their eyes. But no one agreed—yet.
Baldy gritted his teeth. "Relax. He won't dare fire. If he pulls that trigger, the gunshot will bring the infected swarming. He'll die just like us. Just watch me—if he doesn't shoot me down, you all jump him. But the gun is mine."
"...Alright. We'll follow your lead, Baldy."
"Yeah, I'm in."
"Fine by me."
Huan Tian stood up, his preparations complete. Just as he began heading for the door, Baldy stepped forward and blocked his way, jaw tight with false sincerity.
"Huan Tian, I think we should stay here and wait for rescue. The government won't abandon us."
"Yeah, let's just wait. Don't do anything rash."
"The army could show up any moment now."
"Come on, let's just stick together. Don't go."
…
The others quickly joined in, their voices full of feigned concern. But their eyes betrayed them—shifty, evasive, clearly not meaning what they said. As they spoke, they began inching closer, step by cautious step.
If Huan Tian was willing to stay and serve as their bodyguard, they wouldn't mind keeping the peace. But if he tried to leave...then there was only one option left.
But Huan Tian spat out two cold words:
"Back off."
Everyone's faces darkened to the extreme.
Baldy's eyes flashed with menace as he took a deep breath and sneered, "If I don't back off. So, what, what are you gonna do to me?"
Huan Tian frowned slightly but didn't reach for his gun. To him, Baldy wasn't even worthy of making him reveal his trump card.
Yet Huan Tian's silence and stillness only brought a smug smirk to Baldy's face.
"See? He doesn't dare shoot!"
Baldy's voice instantly sparked hope in the others. They eagerly pinned their faith on him, certainly not wanting to act themselves.
In an instant, the guards' eyes blazed with cruelty, stun batons crackling with electric arcs as they closed in, surrounding Huan Tian. Any strike would immediately subdue him.
Huan Tian's motionless stance only emboldened them further.
"That's right. The gun stays if you want to leave."
"And the bracer on your arm, made with our materials—that stays too."
"Don't forget my knife!"
They closed ranks tightly, leaving Huan Tian no space or chance to draw his gun.
"Huan Tian, I advise you not to resist. Our batons may be useless against zombies, but they're more than enough for you."
Baldy reached slowly toward the bulge at Huan Tian's waist—the Desert Eagle gun was holstered there.
His eyes gleamed with excitement. Once that gun was in his hands, he'd be the one calling the shots in this apocalypse.
Finally, he gripped the Desert Eagle firmly.
"Hahaha, the gun's mine now!"
Baldy let out a wild, reckless laugh, but in the next moment, Huan Tian's lowered hands suddenly shot out like lightning, grabbing Baldy's arm.
With a crack, Baldy's wrist was instantly dislocated under Huan Tian's twisting grip. Before Baldy could even scream, he felt something cold and hard pressed tightly against his chin—
The Desert Eagle!
"Huan Tian! Don't—"
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. Baldy's skull exploded instantly, and a splash of blood splattered across the ceiling like spilled paint. A few droplets even splattered onto Huan Tian's face, but they did nothing to soften his icy, piercing gaze.
The guards who had been shouting moments ago were all stunned.
Weren't they saying Huan Tian wouldn't dare shoot? Who said he didn't dare!
"I didn't want to shoot. I just thought you weren't worth wasting bullets on. But some people seem to have misunderstood." Huan Tian's voice was as cold and sharp as ice. His eyes swept the crowd, and instinctively, the guards took a step back.
Clang.
Their stun batons clattered to the ground.
At that moment, rustling footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.
The zombies on this floor weren't just the few they'd seen before.
The gunshot had finally drawn them over!