On the open grassland, a sea of zombies roared and thrashed.
Look closely enough and you'd spot seven people in the center of the horde, swinging Barbell Rods like madmen, cutting down everything within reach.
Corpses carpeted the ground beneath their feet.
They stood atop the thick layer of dead, turning flat terrain into high ground through sheer body count.
More and more zombies fell, and everyone's arms had long since gone numb.
This time, the numbers were just absurd.
At least they had seven people now. Whoever hit their limit could rotate into the center and catch their breath.
Hu Wenliang ducked to the rear every few minutes to patch everyone up - injuries were inevitable in a grind like this.
Without him, fighting through ten thousand zombies would've been flatly impossible.
The composition broke down roughly: ten percent Tier-2, seventy percent Tier-3, twenty percent Tier-4, and about a dozen Tier-5 bastards lurking in the mix like campers waiting to grief them.
Second and Tier-3 posed almost no threat. Tier-4 could actually hurt them, especially in these numbers.
As for the most dangerous Tier-5 Zombies - ironically, they were the least of anyone's worries.
The moment a Tier-5 got close, Yang Bin erased it.
His Telekinesis let him pick off Tier-5 targets inside the horde with zero effort.
So the others could ignore that tier entirely.
"Hah... I'm done. Old Hei, take my spot. I need a breather."
Chen Hao - the one who'd lasted longest - finally hit his wall and staggered to the center.
"Got it!" Old Hei stepped in without a beat of hesitation, plugging the gap.
"Seriously though, Bin-ge, would it have killed you to pull them in small groups? You aggro'd the whole damn mountain - who's supposed to tank that?" Chen Hao griped.
"You think this is still the Rooftop days? These are Third and Tier-4 now. One spots you, lets out a screech, and every zombie in earshot comes running. There's no 'pulling small groups' anymore."
"Ugh... fine. But there's so many of them. No idea when we'll actually be done."
They'd been killing for ages, yet the horde still stretched to the horizon. A wave of helplessness settled over the group. Ten thousand zombies wasn't just a number - it was a goddamn marathon.
"Rotate and grind. Liangzi's got us. As long as nobody dies, we'll get through them eventually."
"Mm. Bin-ge, you haven't rested once. You good?"
"I'm fine. These things are just a flick of the wrist for me. Barely costs anything."
"Yaoguang Realm - just that badass!"
"......"
"Focus up. We need to clear them before dark. Fighting blind is asking for trouble."
"Got it!"
Everyone rallied and threw themselves back into the slaughter.
Yang Bin activated True Vision Eye again, scanning for the Yaoguang Realm Zombie.
Another sweep. Still nothing.
But when his gaze drifted toward the summit - there it was. A figure standing at the peak, watching them in silence.
"Finally showing yourself?"
The corner of Yang Bin's mouth curved upward. He glanced back at Chen Hao and the others.
"This is yours now. I'm going after the boss."
"You found the Yaoguang Zombie?" Eyes lit up across the group.
"Yeah."
"Go, Bin-ge. We can hold."
Yang Bin nodded, blinked out of existence, and reappeared at the base of the mountain.
Still too far from the top. His current range couldn't cover the full distance in one jump - he'd have to climb the rest.
Luckily, every zombie on the mountain had already charged downhill. The path was wide open. Yang Bin sprinted to the summit in minutes.
The Yaoguang Realm Zombie hadn't moved. It stood there like it had been waiting for him.
When Yang Bin crested the peak, the thing actually smirked - a look of pure contempt, as if amused that this human thought he stood a chance.
"The fuck? A zombie's looking down on me?"
Yang Bin's irritation spiked instantly.
The Yaoguang Realm Zombie looked almost human. No rot on its face anymore - just an unnatural pallor, completely bloodless.
The only giveaway was the eyes. Blood-red irises. The one trait no zombie could shed, no matter how far it evolved.
Want to tell human from zombie? Check the eyes.
The zombie licked its lips, then launched itself at Yang Bin in a blur.
"Cocky little..."
Yang Bin snorted, snatched up his Barbell Rod, and swung.
BANG.
Steel met forearm with a deep, heavy thud. The impact drove the zombie back several steps.
But Yang Bin's expression shifted. The Barbell Rod was bent.
His strength had outgrown the weapon. A full-power swing was more than the steel could handle.
"Great. Time for a new weapon." He sighed.
He'd felt it during the last Yaoguang Realm fight - the rod was reaching its limit. He'd just been too comfortable with it, and nothing better had turned up, so he'd kept using it.
But at his level, finding something that could take the punishment wasn't exactly simple.
Yang Bin tossed the bent rod aside, then planted a kick square in the zombie's chest as it lunged again, launching it backward.
He closed the distance instantly. A brutal straight punch aimed dead at its skull.
His strength was pushing six thousand now - well beyond an ordinary Yaoguang Realm.
This zombie wasn't freshly promoted, but it sat around fifty-two, fifty-three hundred. A clear step below Yang Bin.
The zombie threw its arms up to block.
BOOM.
The impact drove it back again.
Yang Bin pressed forward. Roundhouse kick, straight at the head.
The zombie blocked again-
Yang Bin didn't let up. His attacks came like a storm, relentless, every single strike targeting the skull.
No weapon? Then his whole body was the weapon.
Fists. Feet. Elbows. Knees. One combo flowing into the next.
Yang Bin had never trained martial arts. But he'd watched a hell of a lot of TV.
Moves that looked impossible on screen were child's play with his current physique.
He didn't bother with anything flashy. Simple. Direct. Just hammering the thing's head over and over.
Under that raw power, the Yaoguang Zombie couldn't find a single opening to counter.
"ROAAAR-"
The zombie bellowed in fury. It knew it had to break the rhythm. When Yang Bin's next roundhouse came in, it didn't dodge - it ate the kick, then clamped both arms around his leg and bit down.
Yang Bin flinched. His free leg snapped up and cracked the zombie across the temple. He wrenched himself loose.
"Oh? Still got some fight in you."
He snorted, fist already cocked for another head shot. At the same time - the discarded Barbell Rod on the ground launched itself into the air, hurtling toward the back of the zombie's skull.
BANG.
BANG.
Two impacts. The zombie caught Yang Bin's fist - but the rod nailed it clean in the back of the head.
The zombie whipped around, bewildered. Nothing behind it but the bent Barbell Rod lying innocently on the ground.
No one there.
"???"