Survival in the Apocalypse: Max Level Drop Rate with Abundant Resources

Military compound, detached villa.

Gu Zhengxiong stood by the window, watching Wang Zhe and Zhou Qiang tumble and crawl into the night, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"commander."

Footsteps sounded behind me, and a young man in his late twenties walked into the hall.

He was tall and slender with a handsome face, bearing a resemblance to Gu Yungui in his features, but their temperaments were completely different. Gu Yungui exuded the arrogance of a spoiled young master, while this man possessed a gentle and composed demeanor.

Gu Zhengxiong's second son, Gu Yunfei.

"Yunfei, why are you up so late? Is something wrong?" Gu Zhengxiong didn't turn around.

Gu Yunfei walked to his father's side and bowed slightly: "Dad, I've heard about my older brother's matter. Have you found any leads on the killer?"

Gu Zhengxiong shook his head: "The investigation is still ongoing. I've already sent people to interrogate those who survived in the dormitory of the rotting corpses."

A brief silence fell over the hall.

Gu Zhengxiong turned around and looked at his second son, who was usually unassuming: "What do you want to say?"

Gu Yunfei raised his head, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

There was sadness, but beneath that sadness, deeper still, lay a sense of relief.

"My elder brother is dead, and I am heartbroken." His voice was low. "But Dad, now is not the time for grief."

Gu Zhengxiong narrowed his eyes: "Oh?"

"Our eldest brother is dead, and our Gu family can't just let it go like this. But relying solely on investigating, arresting, and killing people is too slow." Gu Yunfei's voice was calm. "Now that the apocalypse has arrived and order has collapsed, it is the best time for our Gu family to rise again."

He paused, then continued, "Our Gu family has been rooted in Xinghui City for over thirty years. What did we rely on? The power of the military! But now, City Lord Liu Xinghui controls the city's defense forces, and we control the military region. On the surface, it's a cooperative relationship, but in reality..."

"What do you want to say?" Gu Zhengxiong interrupted him.

Gu Yunfei took a deep breath: "Dad, give me military power. I'll take men to 'visit' Liu Xinghui."

Upon hearing Gu Yunfei's words of disregard for family ties, Gu Zhengxiong's eyes suddenly sharpened.

Gu Yunfei did not back down, meeting his father's gaze: "That old woman Liu Xinghui has always wanted to annex our military region. In the past, when order was stable, she couldn't make a move. Now that the apocalypse is coming, Xinghui City only needs one person in charge, and that is our Gu family."

"Instead of waiting for her to make the first move, let's strike first."

"Using the pretext of avenging our elder brother, we'll put pressure on Liu Xinghui. We'll demand she open the city's defenses and allow our military personnel to garrison it. If she agrees, we'll take the opportunity to establish ourselves in the city; if she doesn't, it means she's guilty and harboring a murderer!"

Gu Yunfei's voice grew faster and faster, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "As long as we can get into the city, with the military region's strength, it won't be long before we can sideline her! Then, Xinghui City will belong to our Gu family!"

After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Gu Zhengxiong stared at his second son, remaining silent for a long time.

He was indeed grieving the death of Gu Yungui.

But this second son...

He was much smarter and more ruthless than his older brother.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke: "Your older brother just died, and you're already thinking about these things?"

Gu Yunfei's expression changed, and he immediately lowered his head: "Dad, that's not what I meant..."

"Alright." Gu Zhengxiong waved his hand, interrupting him. "I know what you mean."

He turned around and looked out the window again.

Outside the window, the lights of Starshine City flickered in the night.

"I am heartbroken that Yun Gui is dead." Gu Zhengxiong's voice calmed down. "But you are right, the end of the world has come, and the living must look forward."

"Take care of Liu Xinghui's side."

"Take a platoon of guards and go find her first thing tomorrow morning. Tell her that our military region is willing to assist in the city's defense and jointly deal with the apocalyptic crisis. If she knows what's good for her, make her give up a few key positions; if she doesn't..."

Gu Zhengxiong paused, then his voice suddenly turned cold: "Let her see what you've got, let her see what you've got to do."

Gu Yunfei's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied, "Yes!"

He turned to leave, but Gu Zhengxiong called him back.

"etc."

Gu Yunfei turned around.

Gu Zhengxiong looked at him, his eyes sharp as knives: "Yun Gui is dead, and you are now my only son in the Gu family. But remember this, this position is not so easy to hold."

Gu Yunfei's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head, saying, "Your son understands."

"Go."

Gu Yunfei quickly left.

Only Gu Zhengxiong remained in the hall.

He stood by the window, gazing at the pitch-black night outside, and murmured to himself:

"In the beginning..."

"No matter who you are, you killed my son, so you must die."

……

Corpse Mine - Level 1

As the feeling of weightlessness subsided, Shen Xi opened her eyes.

Dark, damp, and putrid.

Overhead were rough rock walls, and beneath one's feet was an uneven stone path. Abandoned minecarts and rusty tools were piled up on both sides. In the distance, the sound of dripping water and faint roars could be heard.

The stench was overwhelming, more than ten times stronger than outside. He held his breath, squinting as he surveyed his surroundings…

[Instance: Corpse Mine]

Current floor number: 1/5

[Mission: Kill all the rotting corpses in the mine and find the entrance to the next level]

[Time Limit: None]

Shen Xi gripped the bone battle axe tightly, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.

The mine tunnels were narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Every ten meters or so, there was a dim miner's lamp on each side, its light so faint that it couldn't reach any corner.

He lowered his body and slowly moved forward, hugging the base of the wall.

After walking less than twenty meters, heavy breathing came from ahead.

Shen Xi stopped and peered over.

At the corner of the passage, three rotting corpses were feasting on a body. They were dressed in tattered miner's clothes, their skin was an eerie bluish-black, and their fingernails were long and black, like small daggers.

[Corpse Miner - Common (Level 4)]

Strength: 18, Spirit: 8, Agility: 12, Constitution: 20

All three are level 4.

Shen Xi narrowed her eyes.

Level 4 ordinary corpse, its attributes are much stronger than those outside.

But he did not back down, nor could he back down, because the mission was to kill all the rotting corpses.

Soften your steps and approach slowly.

five meters.

three meters.

one meter.

The outermost corpse seemed to sense something and was about to turn its head...

Shen Xi made a move!

Triple hit!

The white bone battle axe drew three pale arcs of light!

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The three axes struck the same rotting corpse almost simultaneously on the back of its neck!

The head rolled off! Black blood spurted out!

The other two rotting corpses suddenly raised their heads, their murky eyes locking onto Shen Xi!

"roar!!!"

They pounced at the same time!

Instead of retreating, Shen Xi advanced, dodging the first attack by sidestepping it. He swept his white bone battle axe across, tearing a deep, bone-revealing gash in its ribs!

Black blood gushed out!

The rotting corpse cried out in pain, letting out a mournful roar, and staggered as it crashed into the wall!

The second one pounced right in front of them, opening its blood-red mouth to bite!

Shen Xi pushed off with her feet and leaped back half a meter, raising her left hand at the same time.

Corpse claws!

Five jet-black claw blades pierced through the rotting corpse's chin and penetrated the top of its skull!

The rotting corpse twitched twice, then hung limply on its claws.

Shen Xi withdrew her claw, and the corpse crashed to the ground.

The first rotting corpse, its ribs cleaved open, was still alive. It struggled to get up from the wall and pounced again!

Shen Xi remained calm and composed, slashing down with the white bone battle axe!

"Snap!"

The head was split in two right in the middle!

Three.

It took fifteen seconds.

[Killed 3 Level 4 Corpse Miners, +27 Experience Points!]

Current experience: 362/500

Three orbs of light rose up.

Shen Xi casually picked up: [Mineral Water x2], [Compressed Biscuits x2], [Miner's Headlamp x1]

【Name: Miner's Headlamp】

[Type: Support Item]

Quality: None

[Effect: Illumination, 6-hour battery life]

[Note: Essential for miners; it illuminates the way in the dark.]

"Huh, it can even produce headlamps!"

Shen Xi was somewhat surprised, but she still put the headlamp on her forehead and turned it on.

A beam of light illuminated the passageway several meters ahead, making it clearly visible.

"It's somewhat useful."

He continued onward.

Over the next hour, Shen Xi thoroughly searched the first level of the mine three times.

Corpse miners, corpse overseers, corpse minecarts...

He hadn't expected that the mine carts would all turn into rotting corpses.

Various monsters appeared one after another, ranging from two or three to five or six.

Shen Xi, carrying the white bone battle axe, fought his way through.

Whirlwind Slash clears the field, Triple Strike finishes off the enemy, and Corpse Claws finishes them off.

Each time one is killed, a ball of light rises up.

【矿泉水×5】【压缩饼乾×6】【功能饮料×3】【生鏽的矿镐×2】【破损的安全帽×1】……

The supplies in the storage space kept piling up. Shen Xi kept the food and threw away everything else that was useless.

Experience points: 475/500.

I need 25 more points to reach level 6.

Shen Xi stood in front of the entrance to the second floor, slightly out of breath.

This layer has yielded good results, but the real challenge lies below.

He took a deep breath and stepped down.

The second floor was much darker than the first.

The number of miners' lamps had noticeably decreased, and most areas were plunged into darkness. The air was thick with a stronger stench of decay, mixed with a strange, sweet, and fishy smell.

Shen Xi turned on her headlamp, and the beam of light illuminated the darkness.

Ahead, the passage suddenly opened up, forming a space the size of a basketball court.

That was where the miners rested, with a few old wooden tables and benches scattered around. Yellowed work schedules and safety instructions hung on the wall.

But Shen Xi's gaze was fixed on the very center of the space.

There lay a huge, rotting corpse.

Although there was only one corpse on the second level, it was a whole size larger than the others, its muscles bulging and its skin a strange dark red. Most terrifying of all were its hands... they weren't hands, but two enormous bone blades, gleaming with a chilling light.

[Rotting Corpse Miner Leader - Elite (Level 5)]

Strength: 40, Spirit: 18, Agility: 25, Constitution: 43

[Skills: Bone Blade Slash, Berserk Charge, Bloodlust]

Shen Xi's pupils contracted slightly.

Level 6 Elite.

Strength 40, Constitution 43.

It's stronger than the level 5 elite you encounter outside.

He held his breath and slowly backed away.

But a pebble underfoot suddenly made a crisp "crack" sound.

The leader suddenly raised his head!

A pair of scarlet eyes lit up in the darkness, locking onto Shen Xi!

"roar……!!!"

It stood up, its massive body almost touching the rock wall, its two bone blades drawing deadly arcs in the air!

Shen Xi didn't hesitate and turned to run!

Behind them, heavy footsteps followed closely, shaking the entire mine!