After enjoying his morning, Liu Yang got up, washed up, and prepared to head out for the day.
Today's objective was simple: gather more food.
The potatoes harvested from the supermarket had mostly been handed over to Scarface Mouse for distribution.
Now, only staples like rice and sweet potatoes remained inside Liu Yang's [Dark Space].
Although he still had plenty in stock, Liu Yang was a man driven by a sense of crisis.
He knew that as his survivor base grew, no amount of food would ever truly be enough.
And until a self-sustaining farming system was fully operational, survival still depended on scavenging.
As for crops, even if planted today, it would take months before they could be harvested.
They had to rely on existing stockpiles to bridge that gap.
Once the survivors got their crops into a steady production cycle, active scavenging wouldn't be as necessary.
Since 20% of all survivor yields had to be handed over to him, the larger his population grew, the richer he would become!
When that time came, all he would need to do was upgrade the base to attract even more survivors.
---
During his last run, Liu Yang had already stripped the major supermarkets within a five-kilometer radius clean.
This time, he decided to expand his search radius out to twenty kilometers.
Every supermarket, corner store, and convenience store within that boundary was going to be looted.
He also remembered a massive wholesale market located fifteen kilometers away.
Back when he was dead broke, he used to frequent that market just to hunt for cheap bargains.
That place sold practically everything wholesale.
On top of basic supplies, it carried staple foods like rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, wheat, and flour, along with cooking oil, salt, MSG, and various spices.
It even stocked pet food and livestock feed.
Liu Yang intended to sweep it completely clear today.
As for the situation back at his residential complex, he didn't need to worry at all. Not only was there a level-two zombie guarding the gate-whose vision he could share at any moment-he had also strategically placed another level-two zombie at Scarface Mouse's base. With two level-two zombies deployed under his control, he could monitor both locations simultaneously.
Besides, White Fox was stationed right in the villa.
Her awakened ability was Infinite Healing.
Even among ability users, that was an exceptionally powerful trait.
Not every awakened ability was meant for combat; in fact, combat-oriented abilities were quite rare.
Take Yellow Dog and Scarface Mouse, for example. The abilities they awakened were practically useless in a fight.
One had an enhanced sense of smell, while the other was good at digging holes.
Aside from having physical stats double that of an average human, their abilities offered zero combat value, making them no different from glorified super soldiers.
Finding an ability user stronger than White Fox wasn't going to be easy.
With her guarding the villa, almost no one would dare cause trouble.
With his mind at ease, Liu Yang set off.
Although his primary target was the wholesale market over ten kilometers away, he didn't skip the small shops, minimarts, and convenience stores along the road. Every little bit counted, and even a tiny convenience store contained plenty of drinks, snacks, cigarettes, and alcohol.
Besides, his [Dark Space] was massive now.
Whether it seemed useful or not, he stuffed everything inside.
Retrieving items didn't require manually sorting through inventory either; a single thought was all it took to summon whatever he wanted.
Because of that, Liu Yang never bothered questioning whether something was immediately useful. As long as it might come in handy down the line, into the space it went.
While clearing out a convenience store roughly ten kilometers away from his villa complex, Liu Yang heard faint noises outside. Glancing through the window, he spotted three burly men wearing heavy backpacks sneaking toward the entrance.
They were tall and broad-shouldered, moving with swift, measured confidence-clearly trained, likely at the level of retired special forces.
Liu Yang instantly went on high alert.
The trio quickly dispatched a few wandering zombies blocking their path and slipped inside the convenience store.
The moment they stepped through the door, all three men froze in utter disbelief.
The store was completely bare.
Every single shelf had been wiped clean.
The only thing inside was a single young man dressed in black.
Their eyes locked onto Liu Yang instantly.
The leader took a step forward, his expression darkening. "Kid, what the hell did you do? Did you take everything here?! Tell us where you hid it! Hand it over now and we might let you live!"
They were convinced Liu Yang had stripped the store clean.
Still, seeing the jet-black katana resting in his hand, they hesitated to move recklessly.
If they could force him to submit with threats, they preferred not to fight.
Even though the guy looked young, he radiated an eerie, suffocating pressure that made them uneasy.
Especially those cold, unreadable eyes.
They held a deep, unnerving stillness that didn't belong on someone his age.
Listening to the man's demands, Liu Yang let out a faint chuckle. "Do you know what happened to the last guy who threatened me like that?"
Before his chilling smile could even fade-
BANG!
A sharp, sickening crack echoed through the air.
The leader's head exploded outright, painting the floor in a red mist of blood and skull fragments.
The two men beside him instantly turned pale with terror.
"Boss! Boss! How the hell did your head just blow up?!"
"What the fuck is happening?! His head just exploded! W-Who the hell are you?! What did you do?!"
The remaining two stared at Liu Yang, completely consumed by fear.
They couldn't fathom how Liu Yang had detonated their boss's head with nothing more than a glance!
Liu Yang smiled thinly. "Watch closely. I'll only demonstrate once more."
BANG!
Another head exploded, dropping the second man lifeless to the ground.
"Ah...?"
"AAAAAHHHH!"
"I'm sorry! Please, spare me! Spare my life!" The last surviving man dropped to his knees, completely breaking down.
In his eyes, Liu Yang wasn't human-he was a god of death who could blow a man's head off with a single glance!
A dark stain spread across the crotch of his pants. He had literally wet himself from sheer terror.
Liu Yang sneered down at him. "Didn't you guys want me to take you to where the food was hidden? You assumed I hid food, which tells me you have a stash of your own. Take me to your hideout, or your fate will be exactly like theirs."
"Y-Yes! Right away, big brother! I'll take you right now!" The man scrambled to stand, but his legs were like wet noodles, buckling uncontrollably under his weight.
Liu Yang planted a sharp kick right to his rear.
The man jolted like a startled hog, practically leaping to his feet.
Terrified, he began stumbling ahead to guide Liu Yang to their shelter.
Following close behind, Liu Yang soon arrived at a lavish, grand estate.
He hadn't expected these thugs to be living in such luxury.
The villa they claimed was even more extravagant than his own!
Clearly, the property values in this neighborhood were far higher than those in his complex, and the people who used to live here were undoubtedly ultra-wealthy moguls.
Unfortunately for them, those moguls were now either dead or wandering around as mindless zombies.