Apocalypse: The Primordial Pearl Recognizes Its Master, Starting with Infinite Space

The battle continues.

Barrett missed a shot? No problem.

With a slight thought, Lin Chen's heavy sniper rifle disappeared from his hand. The next second, a brand-new, well-maintained, and fully loaded gun of the same model appeared in his hand. The change of action was fluid and smooth, as if he had practiced it a thousand times.

Li Ya also occasionally took the opportunity to practice her marksmanship, mostly targeting lone zombies that were stationary or moving slowly in the distance.

The twins, Jiang Yingxue and Jiang Yingyue, followed closely at the back of the group, their faces deathly pale.

Whenever they see a zombie's head shattered by a bullet or beam of light, with black and red filth splattering out, the two sisters can't help but bend over and gag.

But their stomachs were already empty, with only burning stomach acid constantly surging up, bringing waves of painful spasms.

However, they covered their mouths tightly, not daring to make too much noise, and even less daring to fall behind and leave—outside was an endless ocean of monsters that would devour anyone, but here, at least there was an incredibly powerful man who could offer them a glimmer of hope.

The intense will to survive overcame their extreme physical discomfort, forcing them to bite their lower lips so hard that they bled, just to keep up with the two reassuring figures ahead of them.

Li Ya caught a glimpse of the two sisters struggling to hold back their vomit, their eyes red and swollen, and couldn't help but recall her similar experience in front of the villa a few hours earlier, which softened her heart slightly.

She slowed her pace to walk alongside the two sisters, lowering her voice to say, "Don't push yourself, get used to it gradually. Outside... it's completely chaotic."

She took out her phone, the screen glowing faintly in the dimly lit mall. "Look at this, the short video platforms are all in an uproar. Some people are live-streaming the terrifying process of being chased by zombies, the camera is so shaky you can't see anything, only screams; some are posting so-called 'survival tutorials', teaching people how to pierce a zombie's head with a sharpened steel bar... But more often, there are robberies, arson, and... rape."

She paused, her voice taking on a cold, realistic tone: "At first, some people in the comments section were cursing, 'Where's your humanity?' 'Beasts!' But now? The curses are dwindling. Because everyone has realized that the iron cage of order has shattered. Everyone has a wild beast locked within them, and when the apocalypse comes, the cage door naturally opens."

This is by no means an exaggeration, but rather the cruel truth they have pieced together from fragmented information online and the faint commotion coming from outside the window as they have just come this far.

Unbeknownst to them, the group following them had grown even larger—the new additions were all young women, beautiful in appearance, with frightened expressions but clear eyes. Without exception, they were all discovered alone or with female companions, without any men around them.

As we approached a cozy mother and baby room, a man and a woman hurriedly emerged from it. The man was overweight and wore a wrinkled polo shirt; the woman's heavy makeup was now smudged, and her clothes were slightly disheveled.

Seeing Lin Chen holding a menacing heavy sniper rifle and a group of girls behind him, the two men's eyes lit up. They immediately recognized him as a powerful "thigh" and quickly got up to join him.

Li Ya stepped forward, blocking Lin Chen's side, her tone calm but firm: "Sorry, our team is not accepting men for the time being."

"Why should I?!" The heavily made-up woman suddenly raised her voice, sharp and piercing. Her eyes swept quickly over Li Ya and the twins behind her, carrying a hint of barely perceptible contempt and resentment. "Weren't you saved by him too? What are you pretending to be so high and mighty for! We're all in trouble, can't we help each other out?"

She was clearly still stuck in the old world's mindset, believing that youth and beauty were still unimpeded privileges, completely unaware of Li Ya and Lin Chen's almost synchronized tactical attire, identical weapons at their waists, and the unspoken understanding and trust between them.

Her boyfriend, with a fawning smile, repeatedly assured Lin Chen, "Brother, brother! Take me on! I'm strong! I can move things, keep watch at night, and do chores! Don't worry, I'll absolutely obey orders and won't cause you any trouble!"

However, as he spoke, his gaze kept drifting uncontrollably towards the young girls behind Lin Chen, his eyes revealing undisguised greed and some filthy thoughts.

Li Ya sneered, her gaze sweeping over the man like a knife: "You have the strength? Then you should first take away the lies your girlfriend... oh no, this 'ordinary friend' just told. She said you were just 'ordinary friends who happened to be hiding together,' but when we opened the curtain of the mother and baby room, your hands never let go."

The heavily made-up woman's face turned deathly pale instantly, her eyes filled with panic.

She immediately switched targets, ignoring Li Ya and turning to Lin Chen. Her voice suddenly became soft and seductive, and she leaned forward slightly, revealing her curves: "Handsome... my name is Xiao Li. As long as you let me follow you, I... I'm willing to do anything for you."

As she spoke, she tried to take another step closer, her chest brushing against Lin Chen's arm almost imperceptibly.

Lin Chen didn't even flinch, he simply turned slightly to avoid her contact, his eyes suddenly turning icy cold as he uttered a single word: "Get lost."

The woman froze on the spot, her charming smile instantly gone, staring at Lin Chen in disbelief, as if she couldn't understand why her "assets" had failed.

Her attempt to seduce him failed completely. Her face flushed red and then turned pale. Finally, she gritted her teeth in anger and shame, grabbed her still-stunned boyfriend, and staggered away in the opposite direction.

They hadn't gone far when the faint sounds of their suppressed, intense argument drifted over, interspersed with curses like "useless," "liar," and "I should never have trusted you in the first place," sounding particularly jarring in the empty mall.

Lin Chen ignored this completely, as if he had merely brushed away some insignificant dust, and continued searching forward with his gun.

Along the way, they encountered many more survivors who had hidden themselves—some huddled behind debris in the fire escape, others curled up under the brightly colored plastic slides in the children's play area.

Most people, upon seeing this armed group, especially Lin Chen's menacing aura and heavy weapons, chose to warily keep their distance or silently watch them leave.

In the extreme panic of the early days of the apocalypse, people no longer easily trust strangers, let alone believe that there will be a "savior" without any reason.

However, there are exceptions—almost all of those who voluntarily requested to join were women.

If any lone or small group of men tries to approach and ask to join, Li Ya will subtly move to stand between them, her tone polite yet undeniably distant: "I'm sorry, we have limited capacity and our supplies are running low, so we're currently at full capacity."