Dominion of the Virus King!

[The title 'Zombie Slayer (F)' has met the advancement requirements and has been upgraded to 'Zombie Slayer (D)'!]

[Zombie Slayer (Grade D): All attributes +10. Against zombie creatures: critical strike chance +10%, all skill effects +5%.]

'(Note: Kill over 10,000 zombies and defeat four types of zombie mutants to evolve the title to Grade C: 'Zombie Executioner'.)' 

The notification from the Cosmic Will didn't cause any visible reaction on Novak's face. His gaze shifted toward a distant trail, and he frowned slightly.

The fierce wind whipped at his dark green robe, causing it to flutter violently. His plague cloak wrapped tightly around his body as he stood on the edge of a thirty-story building, his figure dominating the city of De M-anila beneath him. It felt as though the entire city lay at his feet.

One step forward, and there was nothing but a deep abyss. Yet Novak's expression remained unchanged. He simply surveyed the city, now completely devoid of civilization, aligned himself with his destination, and leaped into the air once more.

His black and red streamlined body cut through the sky like a flash of light, effortlessly soaring over a distance of 100 meters, reminiscent of a superhero in a movie. He moved without hesitation, navigating the steel jungle of high-rise buildings with ease.

Novak landed on another building nearby and quickly scanned the area again. As expected, there was another distinctive mark on the ground—evidence of a rapid jump made by sharp claws.

He hadn't expected such a discovery so soon after leaving Ocean Blue mountain villa and entering De M-anila's urban area. He was merely passing through, heading eastward toward San Redro to meet up with Meimei and retrieve the demon hunter's job transfer scroll. Yet, this unexpected gain was a stroke of fortune.

With his prior experience in the apocalypse, Novak immediately recognized the claw marks on the building—they belonged to a group of ten mutant "Tyrants." These mutants were rare in the early days of the apocalypse. Even before the outbreak, such massive creatures were a rarity.

Under normal circumstances, Novak wouldn't have paid much attention to the appearance of such mutated zombies. However, the advanced blueprint for Zombie Claw, which had long remained unused in his hands, suddenly became relevant. A weapon crafted from a C-level blueprint was something even Novak couldn't afford to overlook.

He had already requested help from the members of group 001 to gather the necessary materials—tyrant claws, heretic hearts, and lord brains. Yet, until now, there had been no results, most likely due to the difficulty of killing such mutants and finding them in the first place.

But now, it seemed that what he had searched for relentlessly had presented itself by sheer coincidence. 

Of course, even though he had found traces of the mutant, this only indicated that it had been in the vicinity recently. Locating its exact position would be up to him. For most people, this would be nearly impossible. 

Mutant zombies, with their enhanced strength and agility, were incredibly fast and far superior to common zombies. Finding such a deadly predator in a city of steel wasn't an easy task.

But Novak was different.

Zombies, like beasts, lacked wisdom and reason. They operated solely on primal instincts—the need to feed. As long as they detected the presence of food, they would swarm like ravenous hyenas.

With this in mind, Novak leaped from the tall building.

The sound of his landing echoed like a deafening roar, as if awakening the city from its eerie silence. 

Unbeknownst to Novak, the buildings on either side of him as he descended were quite familiar. One of them was the Ritz Carlton—the very same five-star hotel he had once considered making his headquarters before the apocalypse struck.

At the time, it seemed like an ideal base, until his encounter with Daphne, which led him to choose the more strategic De-M-anila Ocean Blue Mountain Villa Area instead. Naturally, he couldn't afford to stay in the hotel any longer.

Still, before leaving the hotel, Novak had run into a few familiar faces—his old dormitory roommates. He used to think they spent every night in internet cafes, wasting their youth away. As it turned out, they had been working as poker dealers at the hotel, earning commissions. 

Had the apocalypse not occurred, they would have continued their carefree lives, perhaps spending $2500 on a single night without a second thought.

But, alas, the world had changed.

Now, in a senior suite over 300 square meters on the thirteenth floor of the Ritz Carlton, several figures sat quietly, the once luxurious and lively atmosphere replaced by a deathly stillness.

"How much food is left in the room?" one person asked in a dull voice.

"The last three bottles of red wine are gone, and the basket of baguettes in the fridge is empty too."

The somber tone only deepened the oppressive mood among the twenty people gathered there—both men and women, all young. Even in the midst of the apocalypse, their luxurious attire was still evident, adorned with every brand-name luxury item imaginable. 

But now, none of it mattered. Those once-precious items had lost their value, now not worth even a single pack of instant noodles. 

The leading man exhaled, glanced around at everyone, and spoke decisively:

"Given the situation, we have no other choice. We'll stick to the original plan. We've all seen the forum of the Cosmic Will. The coins that drop from those zombie monsters can be used to buy food directly from the Cosmic Will. With the number of people we have, it shouldn't be an issue. We'll divide the dozen or so guys into two teams, and the girls will stay in the room. How does that sound?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Lig, eager to curry favor, quickly chimed in:

"With Brother Dung leading us, we'll definitely make it through this apocalypse! Who knows, we might even fare better than that White Emperor in the future!"

The group showed a flicker of excitement. 

The privileged second-generation kids, who had spent days hiding in their rooms, too terrified to face the zombies, of course they didn't have those copper coin wells to watch the video recordings.

However, after growing bored of card games, they turned to the Cosmic Will forum and began to grasp the realities of the apocalypse.

They were also aware that the two initial strategy videos had been posted by one of De M-anila City's strongest evolutionist.

The young man referred to as Brother Dung sighed and said, "I still don't know who this big shot 'White Emperor' is. Once we gather enough copper coins, we should find out where a person like that in De M-anila even came from."

Gehn, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up, "Do you think the White Emperor could be the same Novak from our university?"

"What!? You mean that Novak?" someone exclaimed in disbelief.

"Don't be ridiculous!" scoffed a tall, burly young man, clearly unimpressed. "It's just the same name. That Novak? I could knock him out with one punch—there's no way it's him!"

Gehn smiled inwardly, feeling contempt for the braggart. 'What's so great about you? You talk big, but you haven't even stepped outside to fight zombies. All you do is eat more than everyone else!'

Despite the internal doubts that nagged at him—particularly in the days leading up to the apocalypse—Gehn kept his thoughts to himself. 

"Alright, let's get moving. Gear up and be ready to go!" Brother Dung ordered, pulling a fire axe from a nearby emergency cabinet.

But before the group could react, a dark green shadow flashed by the window. Startled, everyone instinctively turned toward the source of the movement.

Then, a heavy, echoing sound rumbled from the long street below, drawing their eyes downward.

To their shock, they saw that the figure was a person—a man who had leapt from the roof of a building, a height of at least 30 to 40 meters!