I’m the City Lord of the Last Days - Chapter 5.1

He Qianshan had already noticed that many surviving humans hesitated to attack zombies. Some were driven by fear, while others held onto a glimmer of hope that the zombies could be cured. They couldn’t bring themselves to harm the undead until they were directly threatened.

However, He Qianshan had overestimated the situation this time. Song Xingcheng, who had read the novel in his dream, had long accepted the grim reality. He understood that the apocalypse had arrived, and the process of zombification was irreversible.

So, without hesitation, Song Xingcheng lowered the car window, shouldered the rifle, held his breath, aimed at the distant zombie’s head, and pulled the trigger.

The gun, equipped with a silencer, made a “thump” sound. Song Xingcheng, ignoring the pain from the recoil that had hit his shoulder, quickly checked the result of his attack.

His trembling hand at the moment he fired had caused the bullet to deviate from its original target, but it ended up hitting the zombie’s neck. In one shot, the zombie’s head and body were separated.

Song Xingcheng: Can it be done like this?!

The two assistants in the front seats, Han Qinmin and Zheng Nianhao, exchanged admiring glances. They thought Song Xingcheng was a sharpshooter like their boss, which would explain why their boss had gone to such lengths to recruit him.

Song Xingcheng knew himself well enough to realize it was pure luck. Seeing their reactions, he could only sheepishly scratch his head.

“Well done,” He Qianshan praised confidently. He was applauding Song Xingcheng’s decisive shooting, which indicated a clear understanding of the grim reality.

Han Qinmin drove the car to the fallen zombie, and in a short time, most of the zombie’s body had disintegrated.

Song Xingcheng got out of the car and, after waiting for the remaining decayed remains to disappear completely, followed He Qianshan’s example. He used a wet wipe to pick up the energy bead from the ground and placed it in a transparent water cup he had prepared in advance.

The energy bead fell into the cup with a crisp “ding.”

Song Xingcheng sealed the cup tightly, sat back in the car, and raised the water cup to observe the transparent energy bead inside. His eyes remained fixed on it.

The energy bead was pure and transparent, smooth and round, with no connection to the filthy, decaying zombie. It was truly a marvel.

“Keep your cup with you and don’t lose it,” He Qianshan suddenly spoke from the side.

He Qianshan knew that the energy bead not only posed no harm to humans but also had benefits. Carrying it with you could slowly improve a person’s physical qualities. However, he couldn’t directly state this conclusion.

Song Xingcheng, who had also gathered this information from the novel, didn’t think much about it. Without even asking why, he nodded in agreement.

This surprised He Qianshan. He didn’t expect Song Xingcheng to respond so readily. After all, even his usually trusty assistant had expressed strong doubts and opposition the first time they saw him collecting energy beads.

He Qianshan had prepared himself for the possibility that the little guy would ask why. However, Song Xingcheng simply stuffed the water cup into the side pocket of his backpack, clearly preparing to do as he had said, without a hint of hesitation.

Sensing Song Xingcheng’s complete trust, He Qianshan’s gaze became even gentler.

In reality, Song Xingcheng was eager to check the city management system’s control panel, which had automatically popped up after obtaining the energy bead. The number of energy points in the top right corner of the panel had changed from 0 to 1.

The easy combat process reduced Song Xingcheng’s nervousness and panic. The newly acquired energy point gave him even more courage to venture outside.

At this moment, the off-road vehicle arrived at the side of Star Lake. It continued along the shaded path beside the lake, heading toward the main gate of the villa area. Song Xingcheng stared at the level 1 rudimentary wooden house that had been built on the grass by the lakeside, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

In the novel, “Song Xingcheng”, the sheltered Wu Jingran and Su Xiner hid in their home for over a week. They had exhausted most of their food supply when they were forced to go outside to collect supplies. Together, they managed to kill the zombies that had blocked their doorstep and obtained energy beads. It was during this time that the “Song Xingcheng” character’s city management system was first passively activated.

However, “Song Xingcheng” was hindered by his so-called “friend,” and the city’s development progressed extremely slowly. By the time they left Mian’an City, the city had only reached level 2.

Reality, on the other hand, was different from the novel right from the beginning. On the first day of the apocalypse, the first system residence had already landed. There were no malicious intruders in their homes, and Song Xingcheng had ventured out successfully, obtaining weapons and even actively killing zombies to collect energy beads.

Song Xingcheng was very hopeful that these small changes would add up, leading to a completely different outcome in the end.

As the off-road vehicle reached the gate of the Yemu Villa Area, the barrier automatically lifted. Song Xingcheng noticed that the security booth next to it was in disarray, with no security guards in sight, and no zombies either.

As they left the private road of the residential area and merged onto the public road, Song Xingcheng witnessed the true post-apocalyptic scene.

There were hardly any surviving humans on the road; they were likely all hiding. Zombies roamed freely, occasionally vehicles were rushing past in an attempt to escape the city, which drew the eager attention of nearby zombies. However, most of the time, the zombies would lose interest and continue their wandering after only chasing for a few meters.

The road conditions were not ideal, with multiple car accidents blocking the way. However, there was no one to handle them, so the number of wrecked vehicles and road blockages continued to grow.

In some sections, they had to make detours through green areas and even sidewalks to get through. Despite their off-road vehicle having a high chassis, it still took them nearly half an hour to reach the “Duode” supermarket, a journey that usually took just over ten minutes.

Throughout the journey, there were only two instances when they had to use firearms. Both times, they helped pedestrians who were being chased by zombies. Otherwise, they focused on driving, and no zombies managed to catch up with their vehicle.