23 Intelligent Zombies

It dropped by 10 points, leaving 89. Is this kid’s corruption level really that high? It seems he was hurt quite deeply before!

"What level does the corruption value need to drop to?"

[Below 15. Corruption levels can rise very quickly; a single event could potentially spike it to 99. To be safe, the lower, the better, of course.]

It seems lowering the corruption level quickly is unrealistic.

"Gurgle!"

Just as Li Xiaoxiao was about to ask what the energy extractor was for, she heard a stomach growling. She turned her gaze to see little Xu Zixuan’s face as red as a ripe apple. Never mind, she could ask anytime; dinner came first.

She retrieved the nutritious fast-food meals, one for each of the four.

"Wow, it smells so good! Mine is actually braised pork!" Lin Shuangshuang exclaimed first.

"Mine is braised pork ribs," Lin Qiu said, pushing her meal box to the center of the table.

"Mine is tomato and scrambled eggs."

Xu Zixuan wanted meat and drooled as he looked at Lin Shuangshuang’s meal box. Li Xiaoxiao opened hers, only to find minced meat with string beans. Although little Zixuan desperately wanted meat, he didn't make a fuss; only his eyes betrayed his desires.

"Come on, since all four dishes are different, let’s put them together so we can all have a bit of everything."

The appetite of ability users is higher than that of ordinary people, so Li Xiaoxiao brought out four more portions. As luck would have it, they were all different. There were shredded potatoes with chili and vinegar, braised lion’s head meatballs, red-braised beef, and a mixed vegetable stir-fry. By the end, everyone’s bellies were round and full. This was the best meal they had eaten since the apocalypse began, and one by one, they sat back, hugging their stomachs in satisfaction.

She used points in the system shop to exchange for three sets of gear similar to her own and distributed them. This gear could automatically adjust its data based on the wearer’s physique, fitting them perfectly. Most importantly, it was self-cleaning—the feature Li Xiaoxiao valued most.

From the moment the rain started, the entire city lost power, leaving the house in pitch darkness. Lin Qiu was worried about Xu Zixuan sleeping in a room alone, and Lin Shuangshuang was afraid of the dark, so Li Xiaoxiao made the final decision: the three of them would sleep in one room.

After sending them off to rest, Li Xiaoxiao stood alone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the heavy rain outside. Little Li Yueyao slept soundly in her cradle, occasionally curling the corners of her mouth into a toothless smile.

White lightning flashed across the dark night sky from time to time, briefly illuminating a corner of the city. Suddenly, Li Xiaoxiao’s gaze fixed on one spot, and she narrowed her eyes. Soon, another bolt of lightning struck, and this time she saw it clearly: there was a figure standing on the building opposite.

The next instant, the figure leaped down, landing right in the middle of the zombie horde below. Li Xiaoxiao frowned—was it a mutant zombie? But the next moment, she realized the zombies below were completely motionless!

What was going on? In her previous life, when the rain fell, most survivors hid in their houses for fear of the zombies outside, and those who went out and got drenched in the rain turned into zombies. No one knew that zombies were actually in a state of stasis during the rain!

Li Xiaoxiao turned, placed her precious daughter into the childcare space, and quietly slipped out of the room. In the darkness, her movements were cat-like and agile. She quickly reached the lobby on the first floor. The glass door in one part of the lobby had long been smashed, and Li Xiaoxiao stepped out with light footsteps.

A female zombie stood in the rain not far from the entrance, motionless. A vacuum zone had formed here; not a single zombie came near it. Li Xiaoxiao looked left and right, then chose a direction to head in.

That way led to a large shopping mall, and in front of the mall was the central plaza. At that moment, the plaza was packed with zombies, shoulder to shoulder. Li Xiaoxiao threw her boomerang.

*Swish, swish, swish!*

She harvested the heads of several zombies in a row. But the other zombies remained as still as monks in meditation, showing no reaction at all. She didn't know what material her gear was made of, but it protected her entire body, keeping her completely dry. This was why she felt secure enough to come out.

The vine had already detached itself from Li Xiaoxiao’s wrist and was rapidly slithering into the horde.

[Host, the system detects that the zombies in front have all evolved crystals. Kill them quickly; your task of two thousand crystals will be completed in no time.]

[Ding! Host has obtained a Lucky Cat. All gains are doubled.]

[Host, bring out the Lucky Cat. As you kill zombies, it will collect the crystals for you, and all materials and crystals obtained through it will be doubled as a reward.]

"If you had such a good thing, why didn't you bring it out earlier!"

[Hehe, I just remembered! Go kill the zombies.]

"Meow!"

As soon as the Lucky Cat was released from the backpack, it stretched and let out a lazy cry. It was snow-white, without a single speck of color, with a red bow tied around its neck, and a small golden bell hanging beneath it. Its blue pupils were like sparkling sapphires.

What a beautiful cat! "It's alive? A pet?"

[Sort of. It eats crystals, not cat food. It gets indigestion if it eats cat food.]

Great! Another money pit! But fortunately, since the rewards are doubled, it will at least earn its own keep.

The Lucky Cat licked its paw and tilted its head, looking at Li Xiaoxiao. Its eyes seemed to be asking, "Aren't you starting yet?"

Fine, Li Xiaoxiao resigned herself to the task and charged in with her blade. Wait! She forgot about her abilities.

She raised her hand, and a column of fire roared forth, clearing a path first. Then, she followed with another strike, condensing water into ice; sharp ice blades swept across, and a row of zombie heads fell off. She stomped her feet, and earthen spears erupted from the concrete beneath the zombies, impaling them through. She waved her hand, and a row of wooden spikes drove deep into the zombies' skulls.

In the rain, water-based abilities were the most advantageous. Li Xiaoxiao’s figure blended into the rainfall as if she were invisible, yet one could see a watery silhouette darting rapidly through the horde, leaving a trail of decapitated zombie corpses behind her.

This was her home turf. Previously, she hadn't encountered large-scale zombie hordes and had to protect Lin Qiu and the others, which made her hold back. Now, she finally felt a sense of unrestrained exhilaration.

A small, white figure chased behind Li Xiaoxiao, and wherever it passed, the crystals inside the zombies' heads vanished. Only a string of crisp bell sounds echoed under the night sky.

As she fought, Li Xiaoxiao suddenly saw a tall figure ahead, standing in the middle of the horde like a small mountain.

A Strength Zombie had appeared! This was a type of mutant zombie—the strength-type. Its destructive power was immense; even at level one, it stood three meters tall and could punch a hole through an ordinary building. On the shoulder of the Strength Zombie stood a thin, small zombie—a child zombie with an abnormally large head.

Oh no, this was an Intelligence Zombie.

The early appearance of an Intelligence Zombie was not a good sign. With so many zombies in the plaza, the presence of even one intelligent one could form a zombie army. A zombie army’s attack power was exponentially stronger than that of scattered, wandering zombies.

Li Xiaoxiao raised her hand, and the rainwater quickly gathered in her palm, soon forming a spear made of water. With a forceful swing of her arm, the spear pierced straight toward the Intelligence Zombie’s massive head.

The next instant, the Intelligence Zombie suddenly snapped its eyes open.