Volume 1, Chapter 4: The First Flash of Thunder, A Surge of Boundless Killing Intent

Gao Yang approached slowly, dragging his baseball bat along the floor with a harsh, grating sound.

"What... what are you trying to do?!" Song Yating snapped out of her shock and screamed shrilly. "Gao Yang, have you lost your mind? This is President Li’s territory! If you dare to lay a hand on us, one word from him will leave you with nowhere to bury your corpse!"

"Nowhere to bury my corpse?" Gao Yang sneered, his eyes filled with icy murderous intent. "In the apocalypse, survival isn't about how well you can talk."

"The apocalypse? What apocalypse?" President Li frowned, clearly not yet grasping the situation.

Gao Yang had no interest in wasting breath on him. He slowly raised the baseball bat and gave it a slight flick. "Regrettably, neither of you will survive today."

Before the words had even faded, Gao Yang moved—as fast as a bolt of lightning!

"Bang!"

The bat smashed heavily into President Li’s knee, the sound of splintering bone clearly audible.

"Ahh!"

President Li let out a shrill, pig-like scream. He collapsed to the floor, tears and snot streaming down his face, curling up in agony as he clutched his broken knee.

"You lunatic!" Song Yating’s eyes widened, and she scrambled backward in terror.

Liu Xinxin was even worse, collapsing onto the bed with a deathly pale face, muttering, "Gao Yang, I... I know I was wrong... please, let me go. I’ll do anything, I beg you, don't kill me..."

"Let you go?" Gao Yang narrowed his eyes, his voice cold as ice. "In my past life, you used me as a human shield, leaving me to die a wretched death among the zombies. In this life, you still expect me to grovel at your feet? Liu Xinxin, you truly are naive."

Liu Xinxin’s expression stiffened; the hope in her eyes vanished instantly. She slumped to the floor, letting out a panicked shriek: "Ah... no, don't come any closer!"

Her wails cut through the silence of the room like a sharp blade. At the same time, the horde of zombies downstairs seemed to be drawn by the noise, emitting low, excited growls.

Gao Yang sneered, his gaze cold as he stepped toward her.

"Thud!"

Suddenly, a glass cup came flying from the side!

"Gao Yang, if you dare touch her, I’ll fight you to the death!" Song Yating, as if driven mad, grabbed a chair and charged at him.

"You’re seeking death!"

Gao Yang’s eyes glinted. He swung his bat with lethal force, cleaving the chair in two. Song Yating screamed as she was thrown against the wall, sliding down to the floor, unable to rise again.

President Li watched as Gao Yang approached with murderous intent, trembling violently as he scrambled backward. "Gao Yang, don't kill me... I have money! I can give you money!"

"Money?" Gao Yang stopped, a smirk playing on his lips. "In the apocalypse, is money of any use? Can it stop a zombie’s teeth?"

"Ahhh! No!" President Li’s screams rang out once more, followed by a spray of blood, and then the room fell silent.

Gao Yang’s actions were clean and decisive. He stared at the corpses before him, expressionless. He did not consider killing to be a particularly cruel act. In the apocalypse, if you do not kill, others will kill you.

"Boom!"

A loud crash echoed from outside the room. Gao Yang turned to see a large horde of zombies drawn to the 49th-floor corridor, slamming frantically against the door, trying to break in.

"Trouble is here." Gao Yang frowned. The commotion had been too loud, attracting every zombie in the building. He could not afford any more delays.

He took a deep breath and gripped his baseball bat firmly, faint sparks of electricity flickering across his palms. He had yet to fully master the power of the Thunder Sovereign, but this was an opportunity.

"Since you've come, I’ll send you all on your way!" Gao Yang shouted coldly and stepped toward the door.

"Bang!"

He threw the door open, and the zombie horde swarmed in!

Boom!

Gao Yang raised his hand, and lightning erupted. A dazzling bolt of electricity crashed down, instantly incinerating the lead zombies into charred husks.

"Not enough!" Gao Yang’s eyes glowed red. The power within him surged rapidly; he clapped his hands together, condensing the electricity into a crackling sphere of lightning.

"Thunder Blast!"

He hurled the sphere into the heart of the horde. A violent explosion erupted, and electricity surged wildly, blasting a dozen zombies into the air.

Gao Yang panted, sweat streaming down his forehead, but his gaze remained cold and sharp.

"Come on! Let’s see who dies first!"

He roared, summoning the lightning once more, and charged into the horde like a god of war!

...

About half an hour later.

Gao Yang stood in the corridor, drenched in blood, surrounded by a pile of zombie carcasses. His body trembled slightly from the massive exertion, but his eyes burned with excitement. This power... it was simply too strong!

"As long as I keep getting stronger, what do mere zombies matter?" Gao Yang gritted his teeth and dragged his exhausted body toward the stairs.

He descended the stairs of the skyscraper slowly. The hallways were littered with the bodies of the undead, and the air was thick with the stench of charred flesh. His face was smeared with blood, yet his eyes were as calm as a stagnant pool, radiating an aura of cold, decisive lethality.

"Hoo..."

Gao Yang leaned against the wall, catching his breath. Arcs of electricity flickered intermittently across his palms—the mark of the Thunder Sovereign’s power still coursing through him.

"I need to find food and water as soon as possible..." he muttered, his eyes narrowing as he wiped a smear of blood from his lip.

Just as he was about to leave, a faint sound of weeping reached his ears.

Crying?

Gao Yang’s guard went up instantly. He gripped his bat and moved slowly toward the source of the sound, his gaze scanning his surroundings like a hawk.

The weeping came from a corner on the ground floor of the skyscraper, where a small convenience store was located. Gao Yang approached and peered through the glass door, seeing a girl curled up beneath a shelf, trembling, her face streaked with tears.

She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, wearing a school uniform stained with blood, looking utterly wretched.

"Help... help me..." The girl looked up and saw Gao Yang; a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes, though it was quickly overshadowed by fear.

"A survivor?" Gao Yang frowned slightly, lowering his bat a fraction, though he remained on guard.

Seeing that Gao Yang did not approach immediately, the girl panicked, fearing he would leave. She said, trembling, "Please... take me with you... I don't want to die here..."

Gao Yang looked at her coldly, his gaze like a blade. "You can't hide yourself, so you want to drag someone else down with you? Do you know how dangerous you are right now?"

The girl shivered, fresh tears welling up. "I... I really can't hold on anymore... there are zombies everywhere outside... I can't escape..."

"Hmph. The wailing of the weak is truly grating." Gao Yang muttered to himself, turning to leave.

Seeing this, the girl’s face turned deathly pale. She scrambled out, clutching at Gao Yang’s leg, crying in despair: "Please, don't leave me behind! I’ll do anything! Just take me with you!"

Gao Yang frowned, looking at her with annoyance. He had seen too many scenes like this in his past life; those who appeared fragile were often the most lethal burdens.

"Let go!" Gao Yang barked, kicking her away.

The girl tumbled to the floor, staring at him blankly, tears sliding down her cheeks, her lips trembling as she could not utter another word.