Survival in the Apocalypse: Max Level Drop Rate with Abundant Resources

The laughter still echoed in the cave, but the two guards would never hear it again.

The ghost child stood behind them, tilting her head, her pure black eyes staring at the two corpses lying on the ground. Her pink dress shimmered faintly under the light, and a few fresh bloodstains stained the hem.

Blood was still dripping from her fingertips.

"Uncle said to investigate the interior," the ghost child softly repeated Shen Xi's order, his pure black eyes curving into crescents. "He didn't say we can't kill, so I won't hold back~"

She skipped and hopped forward, her pink skirt drawing an eerie arc in the darkness.

The cave was much larger inside than it appeared from the outside. A deep passageway stretched downwards, with a lamp hanging every ten meters or so on the rock walls on both sides, its dim yellow light barely illuminating the way ahead. The passageway floor was paved with rough stone slabs, which made a soft "clattering" sound when stepped on, which was particularly clear in the silent cave.

The ghost child continued forward.

Her speed was astonishing. With the attributes of a level 31 boss and 80% of Shen Xi's inherited attributes, her actual combat power surpassed that of most other zombies of the same level. The guards who occasionally appeared in the passageway didn't even have time to see her before their throats were ripped open.

The first guard was dozing against the corner of the passageway, a lamp hanging overhead casting dappled shadows on his face. The ghost child passed by him, his small hand lightly tracing a line of blood on the guard's neck. He didn't even wake up, losing his life in his sleep.

The second guard was smoking deep in the passageway, the embers of his cigarette flickering in the darkness. The ghost child approached from behind. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, only to see a pair of pure black eyes, and then he knew nothing more.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

The demon child charged in, like the Grim Reaper harvesting wheat. Every second, someone fell; every fleeting pink afterimage was accompanied by the loss of a life, and the tunnel gradually filled with a strong stench of blood.

The Gu family members on this floor couldn't stop her at all.

It's not that they're too weak, it's that the ghost children are too strong.

At this moment, the Ghost Child, a level 31 boss, had all his stats—Strength, Agility, and Constitution—exceeding 150 points. The guards on this level, however, were generally between levels 10 and 15, with varying equipment. Facing the Ghost Child, they were like paper, crumbling at the slightest touch.

In just a few breaths, the ghost child had broken through the first level.

She stood before the stone steps leading to the second floor, glancing back at the corridor behind her, which was covered with corpses. Her pure black eyes showed no emotion.

Then, she continued upwards.

The entrance to the second floor was a heavy iron door, slightly ajar, through which dim light and the sounds of people talking could be heard. The ghost child pushed the door open and entered.

Before us lay a vast underground space.

Completely different from the narrow and secluded passageway on the first floor, this place covers at least a thousand square meters, with a dome five or six meters high, constructed of reinforced concrete. The space is divided into countless independent small compartments, with narrow passageways between them, densely packed like a giant beehive.

The air was thick with a pungent medicinal smell, mixed with the stench of sweat, blood, and some indescribable putrid odor. The smell was so strong it made one want to vomit, but what was even more repulsive was the scene inside the cubicle.

In each cubicle, there was a simple wooden bed. Lying on the bed were naked, emaciated women. Their bellies were swollen high, clearly several months pregnant. Their eyes were vacant, their faces numb, like walking corpses, lying there motionless. There were marks on their wrists and ankles where ropes had been used, the bluish-purple bruises standing out starkly against their pale skin.

In some cubicles, men were engaging in the most primal acts with women. Their expressions were indifferent, as if they were completing a task rather than performing the most intimate human act. The women lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, unresponsive. Their bodies swayed mechanically with the men's movements, like soulless shells.

In some of the cubicles, people in white coats were brewing medicine. Huge iron pots sat on makeshift stoves, bubbling with dark brown liquid that emitted a pungent, bitter smell. They stirred the liquid with long-handled spoons, then poured the brewed medicine into the women's mouths. The women mechanically opened their mouths, letting the bitter medicine flow down their throats without even flinching.

The ghost child stood at the entrance, tilting its head, its pure black eyes watching everything.

She didn't understand what was happening here.

However, following Shen Xi's orders, she ignored these people and ran wildly inside.

Kill any guards you see.

The Gu family members on this floor began to panic.

"Enemy attack! Someone has broken in!"

"Not human! It's a rotting corpse! A high-level rotting corpse!"

"Stop her! Stop her now!"

They frantically called for backup, but the ghost child was too fast. She didn't engage anyone in close combat, striking and disappearing in a flash, her pink afterimages flickering between the cubicles, each appearance accompanied by the loss of a life.

"What the hell is that monster?!" a burly man with a full beard roared, clutching a long, still-dripping knife, his eyes wide with shock. "It's moving too fast! I can't even see it!"

"This isn't just any ordinary high-level rotting corpse; it's at least a leader-level one!" A tall, thin man beside him exclaimed, his face ashen. "There aren't enough people on this floor for her to kill! Quickly, call for help from above!"

The burly man gritted his teeth, pulled a walkie-talkie from his waist, and hissed, "Second floor in crisis! A boss-level rotting corpse has broken in! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!"

A piercing static crackled through the walkie-talkie, followed by a cold voice: "No outside personnel are allowed on the second floor. We'll handle the rest."

The burly man hesitated for a moment: "But..."

"No buts." The voice on the walkie-talkie was even colder. "Guard the first floor. The second floor is none of your business."

The static disappeared, and the call ended.

The burly man gripped the walkie-talkie, his face ashen.

"How so?" the tall, thin man asked, leaning closer.

The burly man took a deep breath and slowly put down the walkie-talkie: "They said we don't need to worry about it."

They were just peripheral members, not even qualified to enter the second level.

If the higher-ups don't allow it, then it's really not okay to manage it.

"Let's go." The burly man sheathed his long sword, turned, and walked towards the first floor. "Go back and clean the first floor thoroughly."

The tall, thin man followed behind him, his eyes filled with fear: "Tell me, what exactly was that thing? An ordinary leader-level corpse couldn't possibly be that fast."

The burly man didn't turn around, his voice hoarse: "I don't know. But in this godforsaken place, more rotting corpses have broken in, and this one is ridiculously strong."

He paused, then sighed, "There's nothing we can do. Who knew Kyoto would be able to hold out? Now we're stuck here."

The two remained silent for a moment.

The tall, thin man suddenly spoke, his voice low: "Tell me, why is that 'Primordial Beginning' targeting our Gu family? What has our Gu family done to offend him?"

The burly man paused for a moment, then continued forward: "I heard that someone from our Gu family offended someone in Starshine City. Now that person has broken through the city walls and is coming to cause us trouble."

"Starshine City?" The tall, thin man paused, then said, "Isn't that Gu Zhengxiong's territory? Didn't he already...?"

"Shh!" The burly man turned his head sharply, glared at him, and said, "Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and clean the first floor. This is not something we should be discussing."

The tall, thin man immediately shut his mouth and quickened his pace.

The two disappeared into the depths of the passageway.

Behind them, on the second floor, the demon child's slaughter continued.

Her speed was incredible, allowing her to move freely throughout this level. The guards were utterly powerless against her. She slaughtered her way through the entire second level, leaving a trail of corpses and streams of blood in her wake.

Then, she saw the stairs leading to the third floor.

It was a spiral staircase made of reinforced concrete, winding upwards and disappearing into the shadows of the dome. Two guards in black combat uniforms stood at the entrance, their equipment far superior to those outside, walkie-talkies clipped to their waists. But even they were trembling with fear, for the ghost child was terrifying.

The ghost child gave them no time to react.

A pink afterimage flashed by, and two guards collapsed, clutching their throats.

She climbed the stairs and rushed towards the third floor.

The third layer is the true core of Gu Family Village.

This is a huge domed hall, several times larger than the two floors below combined. The dome is over ten meters high, constructed of steel frames and glass. Moonlight streams in through the glass, casting a cool glow in the center of the hall.

In the center of the hall, there is a stone platform.

The stone platform was carved from a single piece of white marble, its surface covered with densely packed runes that glowed faintly in the moonlight, flowing slowly as if alive. Above the platform floated an object the size of a fist.

That was a fragment.

It was about the size of a palm, entirely black, and covered in cracks. It hovered silently in mid-air, slowly rotating, exuding an ancient and profound aura. That aura was ancient and deep, carrying an indescribable sense of majesty and oppression.

If Shen Xi were here, she would definitely recognize this fragment.

Those are fragments of Pangu's axe.

It was exactly the same as the fragment he had obtained before.

Several low pillars also stand around the stone platform.

The short pillars were also made of white marble, much shorter than the central stone platform, only about half a person's height. Each pillar had a scroll of bamboo slips on it; the bamboo slips were yellowed and blackened, and some even had cracks, but the writing on them was still clearly legible.

The ghost child walked to the nearest short pillar, his pure black eyes fixed on the rolled bamboo scroll.

She didn't recognize the words on it.

Those characters were so ancient, completely different from the Chinese characters we use today. They were complex in strokes and had a peculiar structure, more like some kind of ancient runes. But the ghost child could sense that those characters contained some kind of power.

She reached out and touched the bamboo slips.

The bamboo slips glowed faintly, and lines of golden text appeared in the air.

The ghost child tilted its head, looking at the golden characters.

She couldn't understand them, but the words seemed to come alive and automatically entered her consciousness.

"The Witch Clan...heritage..."

The ghost child murmured, a hint of doubt flashing in his pure black eyes.

She didn't understand what this meant, but her instincts told her that these things were important and related to Shen Xi.

Just as she was about to continue examining the other bamboo slips, her body suddenly began to become transparent.

One minute has passed.

The pink dress faded, the braids became increasingly blurry, and the pale face began to distort and deform like a reflection in water.

"Uncle..." the ghost child whispered, "It's time... I'll help you next time..."

Before she finished speaking, her figure vanished completely into the air.

Only the bamboo slip and the fragment remained, shining quietly in the moonlight.

Her final murmurs echoed in the hall.

At this moment, the entire secret base of Gujia Village was in complete chaos.

From the first floor to the second, from the second to the third, everyone was terrified by that pink figure. She appeared and disappeared without a trace, moving so fast that she was impossible to see, and each appearance was accompanied by the loss of several lives. In less than a minute, she had killed hundreds of people, and then she was nowhere to be found.

"Did you find it?" a middle-aged man with a fierce face demanded sharply. "Where did that rotting corpse go?"

"No...no..." A young guard, his face pale and his voice trembling, said, "We searched the entire second floor, but we couldn't find any trace of her. She...she just vanished into thin air."

"Bullshit!" The middle-aged man slapped him across the face. "How could a rotting corpse just vanish into thin air?!"

The young guard covered his face, too afraid to speak.

A thin, middle-aged man leaned over and hesitated for a moment: "Brother, do you think... she might have gone to the third floor?"

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Everyone's expression changed.

The third level is the core of Gu Family Village, and ordinary people can't get in at all.

"Impossible." The middle-aged man categorically interrupted his speculation. "The third level isn't accessible to ordinary people, let alone a rotting corpse. Even the old master had to put in considerable effort to open that door's restrictions; how could a rotting corpse possibly get in?"

He paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Keep searching. First floor, second floor, turn everything upside down, find her. Alive or dead."

"yes!"