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Chapter 3

A kukri sliced clean through a zombie's neck, lopping off its head. Richardson leaned back smoothly, dodging the zombie's last flailing attempts. This was the first time he'd taken down a zombie on his own without using his pocket watch!

It wasn't because he got cocky after meeting a pretty girl that he chose not to use his watch. He'd been soaking up some mysterious energy along the way and felt like his physical strength had at least doubled. Actually, he was just checking if his fighting skills had leveled up too.

It turned out that he was right.

The once-terrifying zombies now seemed slow to him, and he could easily keep up his attacks while dodging their strikes. One-on-one, he was fine, but if more zombies showed up, he knew he'd be in trouble.

After that rush, Richardson didn't want to take any chances. He opened his pocket watch. This wasn't a game; there were no do-overs. If a zombie jumped out from a corner and bit him while he wasn't paying attention, he'd be toast!

"First, clear out the zombies in this building to keep Anna safe," Richardson muttered to himself. "Then, head back to that supermarket we passed and grab some food. Finally, check out the hotel and take out any zombies on the way."

With a plan in mind, Richardson got to work, using his time-stop ability to search the building. Every zombie he found met its end.

As he killed more zombies, the mysterious energy inside him built up to a peak. Wiping the blood off his twin blades, Richardson walked out of the building, feeling like he was about to burst with power.

Just one more zombie! One more, and he'd hit a genetic-level mutation!

Luckily, there was no shortage of zombies. Most people couldn't resist the first wave of the virus and turned into zombies. The few survivors quickly joined their ranks due to various mishaps. Richardson closed his pocket watch and tucked it back into his clothes. He spotted a lone zombie six feet away, its eyes sunken deep into its sockets yet burned with an insatiable hunger for flesh. He grinned, "Time to evolve."

As time resumed, the zombie saw Richardson and, driven by hunger, wriggled and hobbled towards him as fast as its misshapen legs could carry it, writhing some inhuman words.

Ignoring whether Richardson's blades were sharp or not, it lunged. Richardson ducked, dodging the attack, and with a swift move, his left-hand blade sliced the zombie in half at the waist.

"Rest in peace," he murmured to the chubby zombie, stabbing its brain and twisting the kukri.

In an instant, the zombie's flailing limbs dropped to the ground. Its eyes went far away..

Watching the zombie finally go still, Richardson shook off the bloodstains on his windbreaker and slowly stood up, feeling a new surge of mysterious energy flood his body. The already abundant energy inside him clashed with the new influx, causing an explosion of pain that shot straight to his brain. His genes were evolving!

"Fuck. It hurt like hell!" Richardson groaned, clutching his head as the pain brought him to his knees.

Worried a zombie might attack him while he was vulnerable, he fumbled out his pocket watch, winded it up, and opened it in a hurry.

Time stopped, but the evolution kept going!

In the frozen moment, Richardson lost all composure, rolling on the ground in agony. "Is this a mutation or evolution? It's like a zombie is cracking my head open. Damn it, my head, why won't it stop?"

No matter what he did, the pain didn't let up. Eventually, he passed out from the sheer intensity of it. When the pocket watch wound down and time resumed, the energy in his body, after a long and continuous buildup, finally found an outlet and began to flow. In just a few breaths, the energy neatly reorganized his genes, completing the evolution. But Richardson, slowly waking up, had no idea what had just happened.

Normally, genetic evolution was quick, usually over in a minute. But to be safe, he had stopped time with his pocket watch, stretching the process out hundreds of times longer than usual. This prolonged evolution meant his genes were refined to a level hundreds of times stronger than others. Naturally, the special ability he awakened would be far more powerful too.

This was the power of time stop!

If Richardson's pocket watch had a few more turns left, his new ability could have been even stronger!

As for his new special ability...

Struggling to his feet, Richardson wiped the sweat off his face, the memory of the pain still fresh in his mind. He bent down to pick up his twin blades from the ground. But before he could reach them, the kukris flew back into his hands!

This telekinetic power felt natural, as if he'd been using it for years.

Staring at the kukris in his hands, Richardson stood still for a moment, then thought, 'I want to fly!' The next second, he was airborne!

Usually, new abilities started off weak and needed continuous killing of zombies to gather mysterious energy for enhancement. But Richardson's use of time stop had given him a hundredfold boost right from the start!

If his mental strength were any stronger, like more than twice that of an ordinary person as he was now, Richardson would have faith that he could probably deconstruct a whole building with a thought! Flying in the air, he roared excitedly, "Bring on the pain!"

But he might have forgotten that his telekinetic power was tied to his mental strength, and right now, his mental strength was only at the level of an ordinary person's double, so...

"Shit, I'm about to fall!"

Luckily, he wasn't too high up and only fell from the second floor. The pain of his bones shattering made him cry out. Seeing zombies closing in, he gritted his teeth and quickly wound up his pocket watch.

Just in time, he activated the time stop, and the zombies around him froze like puppets, no longer a threat.

"So, telekinetic power drains my mental strength. Got it," Richardson muttered, holding his head.

He thought he'd better save his telekinetic power for the right time.

After a quick look around to make sure he hadn't headed in the wrong direction, he rubbed his aching waist and stepped into the supermarket he had visited before.

At the start of the apocalypse, supermarkets were looted by humans and became hotspots for zombies looking for food.

Last time, he was lucky to find some chocolates and bread, but this time, the pickings were slim. Most of the bread had expired and gone bad. There were just a few scattered chocolates and candies on the ground.

Fortunately, the biscuit shelf was still stocked. He loaded up on a dozen packs of biscuits and grabbed a few bottles of cola before heading out.

He analyzed the situation and muttered, "The inventory here has really gone down. Maybe someone else has been here while I was away. If that's the case, getting mysterious energy from killing zombies won't be just my thing anymore."

Keeping his pocket watch open, he made his way to the Golden Karen Hotel.

On the way, he slowed down and carefully observed his surroundings, hoping to spot other survivors to confirm his theory.

Unfortunately, even when he reached the entrance of the Golden Karen Hotel, he didn't find any signs of human presence.

"They're hiding well," he murmured. "Makes sense. To survive the apocalypse, you have to be good at hiding. Not many can endure hunger like Anna has."

As he spoke, he beheaded a zombie at the hotel entrance.

Mysterious energy flowed into his body, but since his genes had already evolved once, the boost to his physique wasn't significant.

"I probably need to kill a thousand more zombies to evolve again."

Estimating the amount of mysterious energy in his body, Richardson realized that the number of zombies he needed to kill for another genetic evolution had increased tenfold. But it wasn't a big deal—just a thousand zombies. With his pocket watch, it was only a matter of time.

After clearing all the zombies at the entrance of the Golden Karen Hotel, Richardson finally had a moment to appreciate the hotel's entrance. "This place looks nice, definitely a five-star hotel." The luxurious decor and quaint door facilities made him fall in love with the place at first sight. "I'm already imagining how it feels to stay in a five-star suite. Come on, zombies, let's dance!"

The thought of moving into a new home filled Richardson with instant motivation.

From the hotel lobby to the elevator, Richardson killed dozens of zombies along the way!

Regardless of their height, weight, gender, or age, all zombies met the same fate—beheaded by Richardson!

"Judging by the size of this hotel, it's gonna take me a while to clear it out completely. Never mind, I'll head back the same way and clear out the zombies blocking the streets. That way, it'll be easier for Anna to come with me next time." As he mentioned Anna, a smile crept onto Richardson's lips.

To be honest, Anna's curvy figure and delicate face were hard to forget. He even wondered now, with the pocket watch in hand, if he really needed a doctor.

'Consider her an extra companion for conversation, ' he thought, finding a perfect excuse for himself as he retraced his steps back to Anna's house.

At the last intersection, he stopped and closed the pocket watch. After all, he had promised Anna he'd be back in twenty minutes, and he'd basically kept the pocket watch open the entire time. Returning too early might raise suspicion, though Anna probably wouldn't care about those details.

But Richardson had to be cautious!

"After the evolution, it feels like my physical fitness has tripled. Also, the telekinetic power could help me take down zombies in a breeze, even without the pocket watch!" he murmured as he raised his hand, stopping a zombie mid-pounce, then swiftly eradicated it.

Trying out his telekinetic power in combat for the first time, he got great results. His excitement soared, and he stayed at the intersection, continuously beheading the zombies that surged around him.

The sharp kukris and splattering blood created a violent aesthetic that Richardson found hard to resist.

Just as he was about to kill ten more zombies before heading back to rest, a strange cry rang out. An unusually agile zombie suddenly pounced on his back, its sharp claws reaching for his heart!

Caught off guard, Richardson's brain reacted faster than his body!

"Damn it! What's up with this guy?" he cursed, fully activating his telekinetic power to intercept the unusually rapid zombie.

He stopped the zombie's claws from advancing and struck out with his kukris. But the familiar sensation of a clean kill didn't come—the zombie's head remained stubbornly on its neck. The zombie, with a strange old man appearance, grinned weirdly and was about to pounce again. But fortunately, telekinetic power was reliable!

Even this different zombie couldn't escape the grip of his telekinetic power and was firmly fixed in place, unable to move.

"So tough? Has this guy evolved too? If the blade doesn't work, does that mean the gun won't either?" Richardson murmured, opening the pocket watch. Without hesitation, he pulled out his gun and fired. With a gunshot, the zombie, still wearing a strange smile, was instantly pierced through the forehead.

Afraid one shot wouldn't be enough, Richardson fired several more shots in quick succession, then sneered, "What can evolution do? I'll kill you no matter what!"

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