In a frigid apocalypse, I went on a shopping spree with the reborn.

The potatoes were the first to sprout, and Jiang Qingyue directed the little zombies to water all the crops in the planting area.

Leaving the snake cubs with Long Jiuxing meant there was little danger nearby, but Long Jiuxing was so engrossed in his research that he was oblivious to everything around him, and his alertness was much lower than usual.

Having the baby keep watch nearby is the only way to ensure everything goes smoothly.

"Don't worry." Jiang Qingyue hugged Long Jiuxing. "If things go smoothly, I'll be back tonight; if not, it'll be three days at most. You can message me anytime, whether there's something to say or not."

Under Long Jiuxing's reluctant gaze, Jiang Qingyue left the shelter with Yan Bao and the Corpse King CEO.

The goal this time is to collect as many second-order crystal nuclei as possible.

Everyone's combat power has been catching up one after another, which makes Jiang Qingyue, who has been in the lead, feel a sense of urgency.

In fact, not only her, but even Long Jiuxing, who had never uttered a word, felt the pressure. Apart from necessary sleep and rest, he began to wolf down his meals and tried to squeeze out more time to study the zombies.

Jiang Qingyue couldn't help, and they couldn't rely solely on Long Jiuxing.

Aside from absorbing the power of ice and snow, the only way to improve is through higher-level crystal cores. Her goal this time is to sweep through Springwater City and bring back any crystal cores of rank two or higher.

The snow was heavy today, and the blizzard quickly covered up all traces of activity.

"What luck." Jiang Qingyue patted the snow off her head. Her slightly prickly buzz cut looked like a bird's nest, and large snowflakes fell and covered it up.

"Did I mess with the main god last time? Did this guy take away my luck? I feel like my luck has been running out lately."

"Chirp chirp chirp." The stingy thing drinks cold water, and it calls itself a god? If you can't afford it, don't give it. How long has it been since we've seen any special items? Yan Bao looked at the fur slippers on its feet. This was its only special item, and it was given to it by its owner.

After walking for another hour, Jiang Qingyue was completely numb.

This isn't quiet anymore; it's utter silence, as if the only two people in the world who can breathe are the two of them.

There were no signs of zombie activity, no stench wafting from afar, nothing at all.

"How are we supposed to find it? We can't exactly dig up the whole city of Springwater, can we?"

She looked at the Corpse King CEO with disdain: "You're already at level five, how come you're completely useless? Hurry up and sniff around, are there any of your kind nearby?"

The zombie king's mouth twitched. It was a zombie, not a dog.

It's not actually that sensitive to the scent of its own kind; in its sense of smell, the scent of humans is the most fragrant.

It usually has to get very close to its own kind to detect it, especially those of the same kind who have no intention of killing it.

Jiang Qingyue was much stronger than it. If it got close, Jiang Qingyue could detect it on its own without it even needing to.

Seeing its head droop lower and lower, Jiang Qingyue rolled her eyes: "A piece of trash."

The Corpse King CEO remained expressionless. Wasn't it obvious that it was useless? If it weren't useless, would it have been fooled by the Eternal Winter God into coming to this godforsaken Eighth District?

Since the Corpse King CEO couldn't be relied upon, Jiang Qingyue had to find a solution herself.

Crossing mountains and valleys, lifting manhole covers, crawling through sewers... these are obviously impossible.

She didn't have as many people as Nangong Zhao, so she couldn't explore every inch of the place; she could only fish.

Fish can be caught, and zombies certainly can too.

"Do I smell good?"

The Corpse King CEO looked at her and involuntarily swallowed hard. Of all the people it had ever seen, Jiang Qingyue smelled the most fragrant.

Jiang Qingyue said thoughtfully, "You zombies probably have similar tastes, right?"

The Corpse King CEO already understood what she was going to do and nodded frantically.

It didn't care about whether they were of the same race or different races; it only knew that the human named Wang Dawei was in a terrible state.

The woman in front of him never showed patience to her enemies. If she couldn't find the zombie's lair, Jiang Qingyue would lose patience and might try to steal the crystal core from its brain.

"Okay, next we'll do this..."

……

The snow fell even heavier.

The Corpse King CEO used an iron chain to pull Jiang Qingyue, who had lost an arm and was covered in blood, as they moved with difficulty through the snow.

The severed arm was held in the hands of the Corpse King CEO, who would take a bite from time to time, like a giant radish.

Human scent and blood were carried away by the gale and scattered throughout the mountains and forests.

Inside a mountain, several second-tier zombies guarding the cave entrance were all swallowing hard, their faces filled with rapt attention.

A third-tier zombie king came over, slapped him, and growled a few times—the king said that without its order, no one dared to go out to dig for crystal cores.

"Hoo hoo hoo." Little King, I can't take it anymore, it smells so good! How can there be someone who smells so good?

The third-tier zombie king swallowed hard without making a sound. It was stronger and had a better sense of smell than the second-tier zombies, so it smelled the intoxicating fragrance before them.

I peeked furtively through the crevice in the rock that served as an observation point: a human who smelled delicious but was on the verge of death was being dragged along by a powerful zombie king, and hadn't been eaten much yet.

Should we grab it?

After hesitating for a long time, the third-tier zombie king turned around and ran towards the center of the mountain, knocking down many small zombies along the way.

After finally reaching the center of the mountain, a corpse king wearing a crown sat in a chair, half-asleep and half-awake.

"Big..." The third-tier corpse king had barely opened his mouth when he was slapped away.

It didn't care that its face had been slapped so hard it was turned to its rear end. It snapped its head back to face the front and growled a few times.

"Roar!"

The fifth-tier corpse king instantly regained consciousness.

"Roar?" Is he really injured?

Seeing his underlings nod, he quickly growled a few times, summoning his fourth and third-tier underlings, who all ran to the cave entrance.

As a fifth-tier zombie king, it had already smelled the incredibly fragrant human before, but it also knew that someone who could smell so good must be incredibly powerful and not someone it could afford to provoke.

Unexpectedly, this human was so badly injured and became a prisoner of another zombie king.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" She was about to die. A fourth-tier corpse king trembled with excitement.

They haven't been eaten much yet; as the king's capable subordinates, they should get a considerable share.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Your Majesty, charge!

The fifth-tier corpse king was still hesitating when it took out its treasure, a special item that looked like a compass. A slight fluctuation of the compass could reveal one's recent fortune.

The pointer moves slowly and stops in the orange area, indicating danger.

This made the fifth-tier corpse king even more hesitant. It had tested it a few days ago, and the result was yellow. At that time, it felt a little scared and summoned all its underlings back to the cave, sealing off all the outer entrances except for one observation opening.

I thought we could weather this crisis, but now it has turned orange, which means it is more dangerous than it was a few days ago.

It wasn't sure if the danger came from the fifth-tier zombie king outside.

"Roar, roar, roar." Your Majesty, they're almost gone.

A fourth-tier corpse king was so anxious that it scratched its ears and cheeks.

Another fourth-tier zombie king also growled.

"Roar roar roar roar~" Everyone's gone, and we finally found one. It smells so good, King! Let's grab it!

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Yes, we outnumber it, let's beat it up!

The third-tier zombie king and the second-tier zombies that had gained intelligence also roared in low voices.

We used to be able to have a decent meal here, but now everyone in the entire Spring City has fled. The last one we encounter smells so good, and it's practically half-dead...

What's the difference between this and meat delivered to your door?

If they miss it, they'll be so angry they'll explode.

Should they seize it or not? Even the fifth-tier zombie king hesitated.

The opinions of its underlings are unimportant, but that person smells really good. It has a feeling that if it eats him, its strength will increase greatly.

Besides, this person smells so good, they must be very strong. That fifth-tier zombie outside must have expended a lot of energy to capture them, and now their fighting power should be almost gone.

It had been recuperating in its nest, at its peak, and with so many underlings, it seemed like a sure win.

But... the fifth-tier zombie looked at the pointer pointing to the orange area and hesitated.

It's not the only one struggling with this.

Outside in the snow, the Corpse King CEO held a chain in one hand and took a bite of a "radish" from time to time in the other.

With each bite, it felt as if the nucleus in its brain was about to be destroyed.

But this woman said that if the acting wasn't convincing, she would dig out its crystal core.

The Corpse King CEO felt a deep sadness, realizing for the first time that this fragrant meat didn't taste good at all.

Are there any of our kind here? Come and grab them! Such a big bunch of people, don't they have anything they like to eat?

Having failed to lure out its own kind for a long time, the Corpse King CEO sensed that Jiang Qingyue, whom it was dragging on the snow, was growing weaker and weaker, and some other thoughts began to form in his mind.

One radish isn't enough.

If it could take advantage of Jiang Qingyue's weakness to kill him, it would escape its predicament and its strength would increase dramatically.

The moment the thought crossed its mind, it felt its intestines being tugged.

The Corpse King CEO suddenly woke up, realizing he had made a foolish mistake again. How could he have forgotten about this rabbit with its legs outstretched and eyes glaring?

This thing just made a hole and lives inside its belly.

It concealed its scent with the corpse aura on its body, and there was no protrusion. Not to mention from a distance, even if you were right in front of it, you wouldn't be able to tell that it was hiding a rabbit with a combat power of 100,000.

This guy is there to monitor it. If it does anything that could harm Jiang Qingyue, this rabbit can immediately dig out its crystal core.

"Life is so hard," the Corpse King CEO almost cried, and quickly took a bite of the big "radish" in his hand to hide his bitterness.

Fellow tribesmen, come and grab it! Please!

Jiang Qingyue was also internally calling for zombies.

She knew that the zombie kings were no less intelligent than humans, so the injuries were real.

To avoid losing her life, she held a herbal extract pill in her mouth, intending to swallow it as soon as she couldn't hold on any longer.

Although she is weak now, her condition is not as bad as the Corpse King CEO thought, so she plans to wait a little longer.

Being dragged on the ground, their clothes were already worn out, and even with their excellent physical strength, their backs burned with pain after being dragged for a long time.

At this moment, she regretted turning Wang Dawei into a zombie. If she had known she needed to lure zombies, she would have kept Wang Dawei alive to bleed him out.

suddenly.

With a "whoosh" sound.

Jiang Qingyue, the Corpse King CEO, and Yan Bao, who was hiding in the Corpse King CEO's belly, were overjoyed—the fish had taken the bait.

A foul stench, accompanied by a whooshing sound, assaulted the zombie king's head, the most vulnerable spot for all zombies.

No matter how strong someone is, once their skull is shattered and their crystal core is dug out, they're just a corpse.

"Roar!" The Corpse King CEO threw the chain in his hand and rolled to the side to avoid the attack.

Looking at its fellow clansman, whose strength was similar to its own, it breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it was only a fifth-tier creature. If it had been a sixth-tier one, it was afraid that the woman would have subdued it and extracted its crystal core.

"Only a fifth-tier corpse king?" Jiang Qingyue was somewhat disappointed, but then comforted herself, "A fifth-tier corpse king is fine too. A fifth-tier corpse king can have quite a few underlings, right?"

There are definitely more second-order and third-order ones.

Once the fish has taken the bait, there's no need to act anymore. Just swallow the essence of the plant doctor, and your serious injuries will be instantly healed.

Without turning his head, Jiang Qingyue could feel the zombies constantly pouring out of the mountain behind him.

The first three were fourth-tier, followed by a bunch of third-tier, and there were countless second-tier ones.

Did they hollow out the entire mountain?

Jiang Qingyue was overjoyed. It seemed she had caught a big fish this time, and all the trouble she had caused herself was worth it.

Instead of dealing with the fifth-tier zombie king, she left it to the zombie king president to practice on.

"Yan Bao, time to get to work."

"Chirp chirp." Here I come!

When Yan Bao came out, he didn't forget to give that fifth-level zombie a quick kick.

Even though he held back, he still managed to kick the Corpse King's chin askew.

Before the fifth-tier corpse king could even see it clearly, it had already landed on Jiang Qingyue's shoulder.

"Baby, we're both at the same combat power level, how about we see who gets more kills?"

"Chirp chirp?" Yan Bao glanced at the Snow Concealment Bow in her master's hand and gave her a disdainful look.

Although it was fast, it could only dig out one crystal core at a time. Once its owner made a move, it skewered the zombies into a string.

This is clearly bullying the rabbit.

She had no intention of bullying the little rabbit; in fact, she deliberately left those fourth-tier zombie kings for Yan Bao, since the little guy needed combat experience more than she did.

Actually, these fourth and fifth-tier zombies are too weak to be used for feeding. It's just that we can't find sixth and seventh-tier zombies right now, so we have to do it this way for now.

There were no cool special effects, and no exciting music.

Yan Bao was very fast; the Snow Concealment Bow was launched silently.

Zombies fell in droves, leaving behind a trail of crystal cores.

The red, orange, yellow, and green crystals fell to the ground and were soon covered by snowflakes.

Fortunately, Jiang Qingyue and her team killed them quickly enough that no more zombies escaped from the zombie lair before the zombie king president finished off his opponents.

Without even looking, Jiang Qingyue knew there were no zombies hiding inside. Because under the Zombie King's orders, there was no possibility of zombies hiding and not coming out.

Instead of rushing into the zombie nest to explore, he turned to the zombie king and yelled, "Can you do it? If you can't kill it, I'll have to choose it."

Upon hearing this, the Corpse King CEO was almost scared to tears.

Instead of defending, he launched a frenzied attack, and in ten breaths, he successfully dug out the cyan crystal core from the opponent's brain and handed it to Jiang Qingyue with a fawning expression.

"Not bad." She already had two fifth-tier crystal cores in her hand.

Yan Bao used her little paws to dig for the fallen crystal cores in the snow, and the Corpse King CEO also quickly bent down to look for them.

The half-eaten radish was gone; needless to say, it had all gone into this guy's stomach.

Jiang Qingyue tapped the Corpse King CEO's skull with two fingers: "Do my hands smell good?"

The Corpse King CEO froze, then quickly shook his head.

"Not tasty?" Jiang Qingyue narrowed her eyes. "Then I saw you enjoying it quite a bit just now."

The Corpse King CEO was on the verge of tears. So, is it absolutely necessary to die today?