Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 4: Future nine star expert

“I never have and will never change my name, Mu Xinfei!”

She gritted her teeth and spat viciously.

Her appearance and figure, easily scoring at least a nine, left Ye Zhongming stunned.

Should this girl truly bear that name, Ye Zhongming recognized her well.

Naturally, she had no clue about him.

The woman behind that name carried a legendary nickname before Ye Zhongming's death: Killing Rose! A nine-star powerhouse famous worldwide! This fame stemmed from Killing Rose Mu Xinfei sharing the same city as Ye Zhongming, so he followed her achievements closely. That admiration filled Ye Zhongming.

A decade later, nine-star experts still stood as unreachable peaks, the ultimate elites! Ye Zhongming's unique six-star power paled beside hers—he wasn't even worthy of her direct gaze.

Who could foresee that after rebirth, he'd cross paths with Killing Rose before her ascent?

His very first impulse was to take her to bed prior to her powering up.

A desire that drove every man wild!

Yet he swiftly shoved that notion aside.

For she had seized a fruit knife, aiming it straight at Ye Zhongming. Her stunning face twisted into a savage warning: approach and she'd plunge it in!

A bitter chuckle escaped him—had she read his mind? Women were known for such sharp instincts.

“Calm down, I won’t do anything to you. That, are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”

After a decade in the apocalypse, Ye Zhongming always calculated based on gains. His fleeting lust was just expert allure. What he truly sought was alliance with this woman.

Ye Zhongming faced three paths ahead. First: slay her.

It looked tidy, letting him claim and relish her first. But it brought zero benefits. Losing an expert and a brief pleasure offered nothing useful.

Second: drive her off. That secured the gachapon for himself. With it here, she could launch her rise to top-tier status. Claiming it would shatter her trajectory, potentially letting him mimic her past path to nine-star glory.

Yet he understood that without this gachapon, his past-life memories made it unimportant. Worse, it might erase a nine-star expert. Blocking Mu Xinfei, who held no grudge against him, from her destiny helped him not at all.

Besides, despite her knife grip, he had twenty ways to subdue her now. So, what separated that from dominating the wheel?

The final option: draw near to her. In time, she'd become a formidable ally, aiding him at critical junctures.

Since this woman was primed to reach nine-star heights.

Thus, Ye Zhongming picked the third route.

In apocalypse or peace, he always struggled with women. After racking his brain, offering food was his sole idea. Uttering it left him looking awkward.

Mu Xinfei eyed the shrewd man with his uneasy face and giggled. She lowered the knife and replied, “No need, you should just tell me what happened.”

Ye Zhongming spun around. He eyed the grinning girl still clutching the blade firmly. True to a future nine-star expert, she surpassed ordinary women by far.

“This is the Apocalypse Gachapon, one that can be activated using demon crystals to obtain valuable items.”

Having chosen alliance, even foes were unacceptable if friendship failed. Ye Zhongming planned few secrets.

Such a potent partner from the outset would boost him tremendously.

“As for outside.” Ye Zhongming stepped forth, drew his blade. Reaching the door amid screams, “It is the apocalypse.”

Mu Xinfei’s face froze briefly before easing. No typical reaction to apocalypse news. Ye Zhongming, cautious of her yet not facing her, missed it entirely.

His eyes shifted to the three nearby security guards.

Those three met ill fortune, beginning their mutation.

From humans into zombies, the transformation proved utterly horrifying.

Their once-supple skin abruptly withered, shifting to a dull gray hue. Countless black veins like writhing centipedes spread across them, eyes blazing crimson. Fangs jutted from their mouths, oozing foul black drool. Nails darkened into razor-sharp claws, locks tumbling loose. Speech fled them, feelings vanished—only an insatiable lust for meat endured.

A regular human unfamiliar with zombies would quake in horror upon spotting these tomb-emerging horrors. In the days ahead, the majority of ordinary people served as their prey. Furthermore, every inch of their forms harbored the lethal virus; even a mere scratch led to infection. This fueled their swift proliferation.

It could be argued that the apocalypse's deadliest toll came from that first zombie surge. Mutations in beasts and monsters paled in destructive scale by comparison.

“Zom… Zombie?”

Decades of films had primed viewers of such tales to name them instantly. Mu Xinfei fit that mold.

Years on, she might rise as a nine-star powerhouse, slaying elite beasts with ease. Yet presently, she was merely a pajama-clad young woman, marginally steadier than most. Facing these abominations, she instinctively backed away, her complexion draining to ghostly pale.

“En, zombie.”

His eyes narrowed as he confirmed it, not with dread, but with thrilled anticipation.

For he spotted the gray crystals embedded in their skulls!

Level 1 demon crystals!

Without hesitation, Ye Zhongming lunged forward. Though his present physique fell short of his prior level six might, it sufficed against these freshly spawned undead, bolstered by the combat instincts etched in his memory.

Ye Zhongming barreled toward the trio of security guards. Before they could pivot his way, he gripped the knife's hilt while his other hand thrust the blade's rear, driving it into one zombie's throat. The edge cleaved its frailest spot straight to the spine. Simultaneously, he evaded a slashing claw, then wrenched the struck zombie's neck with a savage twist. Its head lolled backward, tethered by mere scraps of flesh.

Right then, as the throat parted, dark blood gushed forth. But Ye Zhongming had already withdrawn his blade and sidestepped. He shoved away an approaching fiend before plunging the knife into another zombie's cranium for an instant kill.

The last one staggered from the blow, unscathed in any real sense, only growing more feral with a guttural roar. What met it was a flashing blade arc. Ye Zhongming whipped his weapon free, pivoting with added force to carve from nose to crown, splitting half its skull wide. Brains and gore oozed out.

Pata—the inaugural zombie's corpse thudded to the floor.

In four seconds flat, Ye Zhongming dispatched all three zombies flawlessly.

Mu Xinfei stood frozen in shock, hand clamped over her mouth as she bolted for the bathroom.

Those unaccustomed to such carnage couldn't stomach the brutality of battle.

Ye Zhongming exhaled, inwardly dissatisfied with his assault sequence.

Back in his previous life, under parallel straits—even sans abilities—two seconds would've sufficed. Four now? This vessel proved far too frail.

He scanned the surroundings, confirming no threats lurked, before prying the demon crystals from their brows and wiping them clean on the guards' uniforms.

Handling these anew stirred wild exhilaration in him. During his prior existence, prolonged hiding delayed his acclimation to this brutal era. By his first brush with a gray level 1 demon crystal, months had passed post-outbreak. He'd squandered countless crystals, many having advanced. Lone zombies grew scarce, their clusters too perilous for civilians to raid—pure fortune dictated gains. That lag stalled his ascent.

Into his pocket went the trio of level 1 demon crystals. No leisure to mind Mu Xinfei's retching; he dashed toward the shrieks echoing afar.

Shouts signaled zombies—and zombies promised demon crystals.