She followed up immediately.

A kick.

Her foot slammed into the zombie’s chest, sending it stumbling backward.

Before it could recover, she stepped in again.

Another slash.

This time, the blade cut deep enough to finish it.

The zombie dropped.

She didn’t even pause.

She bent down slightly, one hand still holding the kukri in a defensive position while the other quickly pulled out arrows from the bodies around her. Her fingers moved quickly, efficiently, pulling out one arrow after another, wiping them quickly on nearby cloth or just ignoring the blood and stuffing them back into her pack.

Within seconds, she had recovered more than ten arrows.

Above her, from the balconies of nearby buildings, people had started gathering.

Some had been watching silently before, but now they couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

"Hey! Look at that! That girl... she’s killing them!"

"I’ve seen her before! She had trucks delivering stuff a few days ago!"

"She’s insane... how is she doing that alone?"

"Miss! Miss! Can you help us too?! We’re stuck up here!"

"Yeah! Save us! You’re strong right?!"

Different voices overlapped, some filled with shock, some with excitement, some even with selfish expectation.

Bai Li didn’t even bother looking up.

Their voices didn’t matter to her.

She simply stepped back slowly toward the convenience store entrance, positioning herself better as she sensed more movement ahead.

And just as she expected, a second wave of zombies appeared.

Drawn by the noise and movement, they were now approaching within twenty meters.

Bai Li raised her crossbow again.

This time, her movements were even smoother.

Faster.

More practiced.

Load.

Aim.

Fire.

Again.

And again.

Arrows flew one after another, each one hitting its mark with almost unnatural accuracy. Zombies fell one by one, their bodies dropping before they could even get close enough to touch her.

Time passed without her noticing.

Her focus was completely locked in.

But even with her enhanced body, constant reloading and firing wasn’t easy.

After more than forty shots in this second round, her arms started feeling slightly heavy, her breathing a little deeper than before. Not exhausted, but enough to feel the strain.

Then the system’s voice rang out again.

"Congratulations, dear! You’ve obtained a total of 102 zombie crystal cores so far. Keep up the good work!"

Bai Li finally lowered her crossbow slightly and exhaled.

"...One hundred..."

She looked at the ground in front of her, filled with fallen bodies.

Bai Li stood there for a moment after the last zombie dropped, her breathing steady as ever, and slowly looked around the area again. The ground was filled with bodies, some piled awkwardly, some still twitching faintly before going completely still. But aside from that, there was nothing else moving. No more growls, no more dragging footsteps, not even in the distance. The area had gone quiet again, almost like nothing had happened. Just then, the system’s voice rang in her ears again, sounding slightly more lively than before.

"Congratulations dear! For collecting over a 100 zombie crystal cores! Good work and also, remember the interdimensional market would open at exactly 5pm on the rooftop of the Jianghu City First Hospital and would close at exactly 5:10!"

Bai Li hummed lightly in response, not saying much but clearly acknowledging it. Her eyes shifted slightly as she thought about the time and the location again. She didn’t have much time to waste now. That place sounded important, and if she missed it, she might lose a big opportunity. Without standing there any longer, she turned around and started walking back toward Building 9, her steps calm and unhurried as if she had just finished a normal task instead of clearing dozens of zombies.

She entered the building and made her way toward the basement parking area. The lighting down there was dimmer than the upper floors, with long shadows stretching across the concrete floor. The place felt colder, quieter, but also more dangerous in a way. She walked straight to her parking spot and quickly spotted her RV parked there neatly, exactly where she had left it. For a brief second, she looked at it, her eyes lingering on it slightly. It was powerful, well-equipped, and definitely useful. But right now, it wasn’t the best choice.

She shook her head slightly.

"No... too big."

If she used the RV, it would attract too much attention. The engine sound alone would bring half the zombies in the area running toward her, and maneuvering something that large in the city streets right now would be more trouble than it was worth. She needed something faster, smaller, and more flexible.

A bike.

With that thought, she started walking around the parking area, her eyes scanning the rows of vehicles one by one. There were cars, SUVs, some luxury vehicles, but she ignored most of them. Then, after a few seconds, her gaze stopped.

There it was. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

A Kawasaki Ninja 400.

Sleek.

Black.

Even under the dim basement lights, its body reflected a faint shine, making it stand out from the rest. It looked almost untouched, like it had been parked there recently and never moved again. The sharp lines, the aggressive design, everything about it gave off a clean and powerful feeling.

Bai Li walked toward it slowly, her eyes studying it.

"...Nice."

She stopped beside it and then spoke casually in her mind.

"Can you start this bike for me?"

The system seemed slightly caught off guard.

"Umm... darling? Are you going to steal someone’s bike?"

Bai Li scoffed lightly at that, her expression not changing at all.

"What stealing. Right now it’s the apocalypse. It’s not stealing, it’s surviving."

She paused for half a second and added calmly,

"Now, can you though?"

The system quickly replied.

"Of course. I can perform some miscellaneous functions for you, as long as you spend crystal cores. To start the bike without a key, you would need to spend 2 level one crystal cores. Do you accept, darling?"

Bai Li didn’t even hesitate.

"Okay."

Immediately after that, she felt a slight shift in her mind, and the system confirmed the action. She stepped closer, swung her leg over the bike smoothly, and settled into the seat like it was something completely natural to her. Her hands moved to the handles, her fingers resting lightly on the controls.

She pressed the start.

The next second—

The engine roared to life.

A deep, powerful sound filled the basement, echoing off the concrete walls. It wasn’t just noise, it was a sharp, clean, aggressive sound that carried a sense of speed even while standing still.

Bai Li’s lips curled up slightly.

She twisted the accelerator.

The engine responded instantly, the sound rising higher, sharper, more intense. That vibration ran through the bike and into her hands, and for a moment, something familiar flickered in her eyes.

Memory.

In her previous life, she had ridden countless bikes, from normal ones to expensive superbikes. Late nights, empty roads, long highways with nothing but the sound of the engine and the wind. That feeling...

It came back.

"...Feels the same."

She didn’t waste any more time.

She leaned forward slightly and accelerated.

The bike shot forward like an arrow.

The sudden noise had already attracted attention. From different corners of the basement, zombies started appearing one after another, their bodies dragging as they moved toward the sound. Some came from behind pillars, some from between parked cars, some even from deeper shadows.

But Bai Li didn’t slow down.

Her hands moved with precision, her body leaning naturally with the bike as she maneuvered through the narrow spaces. A zombie lunged from the side...

She tilted the bike slightly, sliding past it with barely a few inches of distance.

Another one stumbled into her path.

She twisted the handle, the bike swerving smoothly around it without losing speed.

The engine roared louder as she pushed it further.

The basement became a blur of pillars, parked vehicles, and moving figures, but Bai Li’s control never faltered. She moved through the space like she already knew every corner, every turn, even though she didn’t. Her reactions were sharp, her movements clean, almost effortless.

A group of zombies gathered ahead...

Instead of slowing down, she accelerated.

At the last moment, she leaned the bike sharply to the side, sliding past them in a smooth arc before straightening again and speeding forward.

One zombie got too close...

Her leg kicked out slightly, pushing it away without even stopping.

Another grabbed at the air as she passed...

Too slow.

Way too slow.

To her, they looked like obstacles, not threats.

She moved between them with speed and control, the bike responding perfectly to every input. The sound of the engine echoed behind her, and the zombies could only chase the fading noise as she left them behind.

Within seconds, she reached the ramp leading out of the basement.

She didn’t slow down.

The bike surged upward, climbing out of the underground parking and into the open.

On Jinghua City Road, if someone happened to be looking down from one of the tall office buildings, the scene below would honestly look unreal, almost like something straight out of a movie. A sleek black motorcycle was speeding through the road at a crazy pace, cutting through the empty lanes like a sharp blade, and behind it, a large swarm of zombies was chasing after it in a messy, chaotic wave. Their movements were uneven, some fast, some slow, some stumbling and falling over each other, but all of them were drawn toward the same thing, that loud, roaring machine tearing through the silence. The contrast between the smooth, controlled movement of the bike and the messy, desperate chase of the zombies made the whole scene feel strange and almost surreal.

Bai Li leaned slightly forward on the bike, her grip steady, her eyes focused ahead as if none of this was anything special. The wind brushed past her face, her tied hair fluttering slightly behind her, but her expression stayed calm. It almost looked like she was enjoying this. The speed, the control, the danger, all of it blended into something familiar for her. In just a short while, she reached the area near Jinghua City First Hospital, but the moment she looked ahead, the situation there was clearly much worse than the residential area she had just left.

Zombies.

Everywhere.

Outside the gates, inside the compound, even scattered across the open spaces near the entrance, there were large groups moving around aimlessly or chasing anything that moved. The hospital had clearly turned into one of the major outbreak points, and it showed. But even after seeing that, Bai Li didn’t slow down much. Instead, she tightened her grip slightly and pushed the accelerator harder.

The bike surged forward, reaching nearly 150 kmph.

The speed alone was enough to make most people panic, but for her, it felt controlled. The road ahead was surprisingly clear, with very few cars or debris blocking the way, which made it easier for her to move at high speed. She passed by zombies before they could even react properly. By the time their heads turned toward the sound, she was already far ahead, nothing more than a fading blur.

As she approached an intersection near the hospital, a few zombies suddenly stumbled into her path from the side, almost as if they had just noticed her presence too late. They lunged forward clumsily, trying to intercept her, but Bai Li didn’t panic even a little. Her hands moved smoothly on the handle, and with a sharp, controlled turn, the bike leaned into a clean arc, sliding past them with barely any distance in between. The motion was so smooth that it almost looked effortless. She didn’t even need to slow down much.

Then, in a quick move, she twisted the handle again and turned the bike around, circling back slightly toward the hospital building from a better angle.

.

.

.

To be continued.