Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Bent over, they didn’t notice the slender, strong hands reaching out from above, steadily holding a plastic basin brimming with cooking oil.

With a forceful shove, the hands tipped the basin forward, pouring the liquid down onto the people in the stairwell below.

“What the hell?”

“Where’s that fire coming from?”

“Crap, it’s oil!”

“Ah! It burns!”

They could no longer worry about the stairwell that wasn’t fully blocked. Like ants thrown into a hot pan, they leapt and rolled around in agony.

The more they panicked, the less they knew what to do.

The debris blocking the stairwell was mostly wooden tables and chairs dragged from all over, now soaked in oil—ready to ignite at the slightest spark.

One of them, in a desperate attempt to put out the flames on his body, missed a step and tumbled down the stairs. His fall smashed through the half-blocked passage, opening a clear path for the approaching zombies.

Zombies moved stiffly and found it much harder to climb stairs than humans, but with fresh blood luring them forward, they crawled and scrambled closer, no matter how clumsy.

The first man to fall landed right in the middle of the zombie horde; the other two were quickly grabbed by the ankles and dragged down as well. Mu Ying and her companions, each holding a basin of oil, came down and splashed it hard at the zombies from the front.

The screaming men understood exactly what was happening, but the searing pain left them speechless.

Mu Ying cast her Fire Spell, and explosive flames swept rapidly through the zombie crowd.

[You have killed Zombie ×1. Gained 1 EXP, 3 Copper Coins.]

[You have killed player Zhu Anping. Gained 1 EXP, 45 Copper Coins.]

[You have killed player Li Jun. Gained 1 EXP, 45 Copper Coins.]

[You have killed player Zhao Zhongxing. Gained 1 EXP, 45 Copper Coins.]

...

A string of notifications appeared. While waiting for the flames to die down, Mu Ying checked her adventure log.

Killing people, just like killing zombies, earned her experience and coins. The experience was about the same, but the coins were far more.

Mu Ying figured the loot was probably all the copper coins those players had on them. Judging by the amount, they must have killed quite a few zombies themselves. Since they hadn’t gone to the camp, they had nowhere to spend the money, so Mu Ying got it all.

Once the fire died down, a few zombies from the back—less affected by the flames—stepped over their classmates’ corpses and approached Mu Ying and her group.

“Let the zombies get a bit closer, then I’ll bind them. After that, you two take them out,” Mu Ying said to Zheng Jing and Nie Ying.

The two nodded in understanding, gripping their weapons tightly. They already knew that killing zombies would grant them “abilities.”

After all they’d suffered, they’d toughened up fast. If they wanted to survive in the apocalypse, they had to awaken their powers.

There were no plants or soil in the stairwell, so Mu Ying’s Entangle spell was weaker here. Luckily, only three zombies remained, and the stairs hampered their movement, so she managed to control them.

“Now!”

As soon as Mu Ying spoke, Nie Ying and Zheng Jing rushed forward, each taking out a zombie. Mu Ying finished off the last one herself with a hoe.

“Don’t check your player handbook just yet. Zombies drop copper coins when they die—the ones you killed are yours,” Mu Ying said, then went down to collect the loot. From her adventure log, she already knew this was a good haul—167 copper coins in total.

Adding the 40 coins they’d picked up along the way, she had just enough to convert to 2 silver coins and 7 copper coins. Her coin pouch looked flatter, but she was richer than ever.

The third-floor lounge was a nightmare for Nie Ying and Zheng Jing, so they chose the second-floor cafeteria as their resting place for the night.

Just like she’d done with Dong Xiaogang before, Mu Ying gave them a brief rundown of what to watch out for, then let them make their own choices.

She didn’t save people out of pure kindness—it just made her happy, and it didn’t cost her much effort.

It was just a convenient act, and she got experience and coins out of it—why not?

She didn’t expect anything in return, so after saving someone, she didn’t go out of her way to offer extra help.

To Nie Ying and Zheng Jing, Mu Ying seemed like a warm-hearted, smart, and powerful girl. But after killing the zombies, she grew much quieter, offering only a few reminders before falling silent, creating a sense of distance.

But Mu Ying had always been this way. She saved people for her own satisfaction, in her own way. She had little curiosity about others and even less desire to talk about herself. Strangers sitting together—what was there to say?

Fortunately, Nie Ying and Zheng Jing were adults. They just thought Mu Ying was a bit aloof. But since they were grateful, they saw her through rose-colored glasses and didn’t feel uncomfortable.

After reading the attribute descriptions, the two of them didn’t hesitate to share their stats and ask for her advice.

Nie Ying’s strengths were agility and constitution: agility 12, constitution 11.

Zheng Jing’s strongest stat was perception, at 12.

Mu Ying gave them a rough rundown of each class’s abilities, though she didn’t know much herself.

In the end, Nie Ying chose the Wanderer class, based on her strengths. Zheng Jing picked Druid over Priest, influenced by Mu Ying.

Mu Ying knew the most about Druids, so her explanation was the most thorough. As for the Priest class, all Mu Ying knew was that it had a zero-level healing spell, which she’d heard about from Liu Luoluo. Liu hadn’t learned anything else, so neither did Mu Ying.

There was still a big gap between knowledge and ability. The two who’d chosen their classes were now immersed in a sea of new information.

Mu Ying was the same—she was now learning the Prestidigitation spell.

Back at the camp, she could boil water and clean herself, but out here, she didn’t have that luxury. This zero-level cantrip was just what she needed.

She’d already learned several first-level spells, so picking up a cantrip was no problem, and she learned it even faster.

Zheng Jing started with the Light spell, but before she could produce even a glimmer, Mu Ying was already casting Prestidigitation steadily.

She even practiced on the other two, cleaning the dust and grime from their bodies, making them much more comfortable.

“Sigh, I’m starting to doubt myself. Why can’t I get anything to work?” Zheng Jing said, frustrated. Nie Ying was already running around the room, getting used to her new abilities, but Zheng Jing hadn’t felt any change at all.

“It took me a long time to learn my first spell too. Take it slow—the first step is always the hardest,” Mu Ying comforted her. “Besides, there aren’t many plants in town, and the natural energy is much thinner than in a forest. That might make it harder for you to connect with nature. Why not try summoning an animal companion? Skills are usually easier to learn.”

Zheng Jing nodded. Who wouldn’t want to try out magical powers? If she couldn’t learn a spell right away, summoning an animal companion sounded good too.

The round panda had already been cuddled by the two girls—who doesn’t love a national treasure?

Zheng Jing wanted a furry little companion too, but she didn’t want a helpless baby animal. She wasn’t even confident she could protect herself, let alone an animal companion. So she hoped for one with some combat ability, to protect both itself and her.

The creature that appeared in her summoning circle was much more imposing than the panda—a full-grown grey wolf."

"The next morning, as soon as it was light, Mu Ying left Anping Driving School and once again chose to travel alone.

Before noon, she arrived at the northern edge of Qingshan Town. Up ahead was a highway leading straight to Binhai City.