Rebirth in the Apocalypse: My Ex-Girlfriend's Guide to Winning Me Over

Lin Ling wasn't annoyed. With a smile, she picked up Zuo You's plate and started eating.

In this kind of weather, only those who eat iced watermelon know how refreshing it is.

Just as Erdan was enjoying his meal, he heard his master's voice.

"If you eat two fruit platters, you have to do two jobs."

Then, a pile of unopened packages appeared in front of me.

Suddenly, the fruit platter didn't smell so good anymore.

"Sister Xiaoyou, how come you have so many packages?"

Lin Ling always felt that some of her behaviors were strange.

Zuo You cut herself another slice of watermelon and casually said, "Didn't someone online predict the end of the world? I'm afraid of dying, so I bought a bit more."

Lin Ling wanted to speak, but swallowed the words back and nodded gently.

I had a hunch that Sister Xiaoyou might be a post-apocalyptic fanatic, even more fanatical than me.

On the sixth day, after the floodwaters receded, the neighborhood was covered in mud.

There were also many zombies that had been blown in by the wind, as well as severed limbs, remains, garbage, and flies and maggots clinging to them.

The place was a mess, and the stench was overwhelming.

Zuo You took out a set of chainmail and a tactical helmet for Lin Ling and helped Gouzi put on the homemade light armor.

I put on my tactical helmet, turned on the light on it, and went downstairs to work.

In the past few days, the zombies' sense of smell, hearing, speed, and strength have all increased significantly.

As soon as the two people and their dog stepped out of the building, they smelled the scent of living people, excitedly let out strange cries from their throats, and approached the two people with ferocious expressions.

Zuo You walked at the front and slashed the neck of a zombie that pounced on her right, its rotting, white head falling to the ground instantly.

Lin Ling followed up by kicking the zombie beside her over, then thrusting her sword into its brow, swiftly dispatching it.

The dog was quite ferocious. After being modified by superpowers, its bite force was astonishing. It pounced and bit off a zombie in one gulp, smashing the zombie's head to pieces with a "crunch, crunch".

For awakened individuals, dealing with these zombies is not difficult, as long as they avoid encountering hordes of zombies and mutated zombies.

After clearing out the zombies in the neighborhood, Zuo You instructed her two friends to examine the zombies' heads to see if they had any crystal cores.

She was the first to stab the zombie's brain and stir it up, causing red and white liquid to splatter out, but she herself was not covered in filth.

This one didn't, and she quickly moved on to the next one.

Lin Ling followed behind, drew the axe from her waist and smashed it hard, shattering the head of a zombie at her feet. Filth splattered all over her, and she used the axe blade to rummage around for the crystal core, her face contorted.

Even Zuo You, a seasoned veteran, found the scene unbearable; this person was far too brutal.

She felt that Lin Ling had accidentally triggered some strange attribute.

He turned his head away and continued working.

"Sister Xiaoyou, is this the one?"

Lin Ling excitedly approached Zuo You, opened her hand, and revealed a blood-stained object in her palm.

She knocked on the heads of five zombies and finally found a crystal core similar to what Sister Xiaoyou had mentioned.

Zuo You's eyes lit up, and she took out a bottle of water from her bag and rinsed herself clean.

Suddenly, an irregularly shaped, transparent crystal, about the size of a little fingernail, appeared. Under the flashlight beam, it sparkled like a diamond.

Just as she suspected, the zombies had evolved ahead of schedule.

She smiled and said, "Yes, this is a first-tier crystal core. As zombies evolve, different colored crystal cores will appear in their brains. Absorbing the energy inside can accelerate advancement and also replenish the energy of awakened individuals."

As the zombies evolve, the size and color of the crystal core will change.

The first to ninth orders have the following colors: transparent, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, and pink, respectively. The tenth-order crystal nucleus is white.

As for size, Zuo You has seen a seventh-tier one, which is about the size of a ping-pong ball.

"I never expected the stuff inside a zombie's brain to be so beautiful," Lin Ling remarked, holding up the crystal core.

"This thing has a wide range of uses. It can be used as an energy source, to enhance weapons, and will also be the main currency in circulation in the future."

"Sister Xiaoyou, how do you use this? You don't have to swallow it whole, do you?"

Zuo You looked inscrutable. "I'll tell you when we get back. Let's see if there's any more first."

Although Lin Ling was puzzled as to why she knew so much about the apocalypse, she also knew that now was not the time to ask.

They dealt with nearly 30 zombies in the neighborhood, but in the end, they only found a mere 5 crystal cores.

Zuo You didn't mind having too few; there were plenty of zombies outside, so getting crystal cores was as easy as taking candy from a baby.

Lin Ling moved the body to the entrance of the residential area and burned it with her supernatural power.

The environment can't be too bad; they'll have to stay here for a while longer.

After finishing all that, the two of them didn't rest. They went from room to room dealing with the zombies in Unit 1 of Building 5.

While they were at it, they swept away everything in the house that they thought was worthwhile and dug out 5 crystal cores.

These crystal nuclei were not absorbed by the left grapefruit.

She is currently at the second tier. First-tier crystal cores are useful to her, but they need to be accumulated in large quantities.

The energy of one second-order crystal nucleus is roughly equal to the energy of ten first-order crystal nuclei.

Of course, some special variants are exceptions.

Based on past experience, to advance from the first to the second tier, one needs to absorb 10-20 second-tier crystal cores.

It takes about 100-200 first-order crystal nuclei to reach the second-order bottleneck.

The amount absorbed varies from person to person, depending on their talent.

Of course, the more you absorb, the stronger your superpowers become.

After rinsing them clean with water, I gave five to each of the dogs and Lin Ling.

"Xiaoling guides her superpower into her palm to absorb the energy in the crystal core, and Erdan swallows it directly. You two absorb it in the living room while I watch."

The two of them followed the instructions, and in less than 20 minutes, they had finished off all ten crystal cores.

"How do you feel? How much have you improved?" Zuo You asked, looking at the two of them.

Lin Ling tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "It seems to be just a little bit, about one-tenth?"

Erdan put his paw on Lin Ling's arm, indicating that he was about the same as her.

Zuo You was surprised. In her previous life, she only reached a bottleneck with 10 crystal cores. These two people only improved by 1/10 with 5 cores, which is a five-fold increase. Doesn't that mean they need 50 cores?

Is this the magical effect of the strange light? Cleansing the meridians and marrow?

So, does that mean I need to absorb 1000 Tier 1 stones?

That's not right. She has dual-elemental abilities, so 1000 pills might not be enough to reach the second-tier bottleneck.

She felt a headache coming on; if it were a second-tier zombie, finding 100 crystal cores would be enough.

But where can we find second-order ones now?

He rubbed his temples, walked onto the balcony, and fell into deep thought.

"what--"

Just then, a scream came from Building 2, followed by a series of screams.

Zuo You used her mental energy to sense that a zombie had broken down the door and was biting people.

Mutant zombies!

A level one zombie is not enough to break down the door; only mutated zombies have that power.

"You all stay home, I'll go check on things."

With that, Zuo You, wielding Frost Offering, sped off.