era full of malice

"Although I know you're trying to comfort me, thank you anyway," Cheryl smiled reluctantly.

Even if what Anthony said is true, there's hardly enough time for her to exercise. If it weren't for Anthony, even basic needs like food and shelter would be a problem.

Anthony was unaware of Cheryl's thoughts, so he assumed she had given up and didn't press further. They continued their conversation with intermittent exchanges as they walked. Until they reached an intersection. At the corner of the intersection stood a small supermarket with a sign that read "Sunshine Supermarket."

Sunshine Supermarket had been in business for several years. Since Anthony started middle school, the supermarket had been located there, and he would often come to buy snacks and drinks. In addition to Sunshine Supermarket, there were seven or eight other supermarkets nearby, all thriving due to their proximity to Yanghe School, a hundred meters away.

Unfortunately, a flood had turned the once lively street into ruins. Anthony pointed to Sunshine Supermarket and said to Cheryl, "I'll lure the zombies away later, and you can hide inside this supermarket. I'll come and get you after I've cleared the zombies."

"Okay," Cheryl replied without hesitation. Anthony had strong combat abilities, and her presence would only burden him. It was better for her to take on the logistical responsibility without hesitation.

"Alright, find a good hiding spot. It won't take long," Anthony instructed, glancing at the main gate of Yanghe School, located at the far end of Yanghe North Road, and reminded her, "If there's any emergency, just call me over to help. "

"Okay."

After assigning the tasks, Anthony watched Cheryl enter the supermarket and headed towards Yanghe East Road. He walked halfway and then stopped, holding a kitchen knife and vigorously hitting a utility pole by the roadside. The same method, the same routine.

Due to the flood, the alleyway was unusually quiet, as most residents had either drowned or turned into zombies.

The sound of these impacts quickly spread throughout Yanghe East Road. In the next second, a zombie walked out from a private house, while the rest either fell from upstairs or crawled out of windows. In short, there were various ways they emerged, quickly filling up the entire Yanghe East Road.

Yanghe East Road wasn't big, about five to six meters wide and one to two hundred meters long. Looking ahead, there were probably around one or two hundred zombies. Anthony looked at the zombies in front of him, stopped hitting, and his eyes were filled with excitement. They were all precious energy points! He slightly bent his body and without waiting for the zombies to approach, he charged forward.

With a swing of his knife, the head of the frontmost zombie in the group flew off. Before the body hit the ground, another flash of the knife followed. Facing this group of ordinary zombies, Anthony was like a wolf among sheep, slaughtering them effortlessly. Cheryl, hiding inside Sunshine Supermarket, witnessed the scene through the glass walls. If Anthony's ability to kill over thirty zombies single-handedly was considered powerful, then now he could definitely be described as abnormal.

"There are hundreds of zombies!" Cheryl exclaimed in astonishment. Ten minutes passed. The zombies that were lured out earlier were all cleanly killed by Anthony. However, more zombies kept appearing from the narrow alleys, and without exception, they turned into headless corpses.

Five minutes later. "Cheryl, come over here!" Anthony swung off the dark red blood from his machete and shouted towards the supermarket.

"Coming!" Soon, a slender figure ran out from the supermarket.

When Cheryl approached, Anthony grabbed a zombie by its hair and explained, "When you grab a zombie, it's best to grab its hair and press it to the ground. Then, insert the knife forcefully into the crown of its head. The zombie's crystal is located approximately five centimeters inside the crown."

"Understood," Cheryl nodded, carefully following Anthony's instructions, she gingerly grabbed a zombie and fiercely stabbed her waist knife into it.

A dark red liquid mixed with deep blue flowed out of the wound. Cheryl felt nauseous watching it, but she quickly adjusted and suppressed the sticky feeling to pry open the skull. As expected, a gray crystal appeared among the blue flesh pile.

Cheryl quickly reached out and dug it out, holding it up to Anthony like a treasure. "Is this it?"

"Not bad!" Anthony praised. Being praised, Cheryl smiled, realizing that she wasn't entirely useless.

The two of them proceeded to dig out all the crystals from the zombies, including 20 zombie dog crystals. Finally, they counted the total: 400 zombie crystals, 20 zombie dog crystals, plus the 36 crystals they obtained in the morning. It was definitely a bountiful harvest today.

Back at the base, Anthony immediately converted all the crystals and obtained 503.8 energy points. The remaining energy points jumped to 728.38. They were only 300 energy points away from upgrading the base. Anthony was very satisfied with the result....

July 1, 2024, 6:00 a.m. A scream shattered the peaceful morning. The sound came from downstairs. Anthony quickly ran downstairs and when he saw Cheryl, excitedly hugging the refrigerator, his expression was speechless. On the other hand, Cheryl, holding the refrigerator as if performing acrobatics, lifting it up and putting it down repeatedly, seemed to be playing with an interesting toy. Verna and Anthony had similar expressions, but when she saw Anthony, she covered foreheads.

"Alright, if you keep playing like that, our refrigerator will fall apart," Anthony reminded, his lips twitching.

"Oh,sorry..." Cheryl playfully stuck out her tongue, feeling somewhat embarrassed, but mostly excited.

Anthony naturally knew what she wanted to ask, so before she could speak, he said, "Are you curious about why you've become stronger?"

"Yes!" Cheryl vigorously nodded.

Anthony explained, "The water and food we usually consume are special items rich in energy. They can stimulate human potential and increase physical strength. The amplification of this strength isn't particularly significant, but as long as you consume them daily, little by little, you'll gain extraordinary power."

"So, you mean if I eat every day, I can become as strong as an ox?" Cheryl exclaimed excitedly.

"you can understand it like this," Anthony admitted.

He wanted this woman to know that by staying at Dawn Base, she could gain extraordinary power. After all, drinking his spiritual pool water and eating his food rich in spiritual essence, it would be a loss if she didn't stay and work for him.

Anthony's tone turned cold as he said, "I hope you keep this secret to yourself and don't tell anyone."

Cheryl didn't understand and asked, "Why? If we can contact the military and give them..."

"If we give this to them, the military's power will become stronger, right?" Anthony calmly continued, "But have you considered that those who possess this miraculous item, if it falls into their hands, what will happen to me?"

Upon hearing this, Cheryl fell silent. She had already imagined the consequences. Raising her head, Cheryl's face was filled with apology, "I'm sorry, I was too naive."

"But don't worry," Cheryl earnestly said, "I will guard this secret, even if it costs me my life."

With these words, Anthony was satisfied. "Actually, your thoughts are good, but this is an era full of malice. We can't test others' malice with our own kindness. All we can do for now is to live well."