Chapter 257: The Level of Zombies
Chapter 257: The Level of Zombies
Yun Tao calling Anran arrogant and ignorant is indeed justified. During this period, Anran has become complacent, overestimating her abilities after discovering her powers.
But are her abilities really as strong as she believes? Yun Tao manages to press a knife to her neck without warning — and he isn’t even particularly powerful.
Anran accepts his criticism humbly and begins to focus on killing zombies seriously, using only a knife.
The road ahead is still long. Aside from Yun Tao and the three children, no one disturbs Anran. She is able to take her time practicing how to kill zombies with a military knife, relying on her own strength instead of her powers.
Yun Tao continues driving. When they encounter roadblocks, he stops the car to clear them.
Little Mint seems inspired by Anran and has started practicing how to kill zombies with a knife as well. Hengheng is too young for such tasks, so he is responsible for digging out the crystal cores from zombie heads for emergency use.
As for Anran, when she isn’t killing zombies, she runs alongside the car, practicing grappling, combat techniques, and assassination skills. Yun Tao has told her that a strong body is the foundation of everything, so she pushes herself to train relentlessly. The only times she returns to the car are when Doll cries for food or when she’s too exhausted to continue.
The national highway is more winding than the expressway, often passing through desolate villages. They move slowly, driving while taking time to kill zombies and collect supplies.
Despite the grim circumstances, they gradually adjust to this new way of living.
After killing countless zombies, Anran and Yun Tao begin to draw some conclusions. They realize that zombies aren’t evolving as a collective but rather advancing at individual levels — this is the "zombie level."
Neither Anran nor Yun Tao knows what causes zombies to evolve. They hope to find answers once they reach northern Hubei, where they believe the gathered survivors will have better insights.
Some zombies have crystal cores in their brains, resembling ordinary diamonds about the size of pomegranate seeds. These are the most common type — like the ones Anran encountered at the hospital. These zombies move slowly, as if someone has hit the slow-motion button. However, such low-level zombies have become increasingly rare.
Instead, most of the zombies they encounter now have crystal cores that gleam with a watery sheen. These belong to the first evolutionary stage — faster than the basic zombies and capable of summoning others of their kind. Their speed varies; some move like slow joggers while others sprint like trained runners. Speed alone isn’t the defining factor for zombie levels — their hearing, sense of smell, and even vision seem to improve by the day.
If humans keep comparing today's zombies to yesterday's, they will surely fail to survive in the wild.
There’s another type — the copper-skinned, iron-boned zombies. They are far rarer and incredibly dangerous. Anran has encountered them before but has always managed to avoid conflict thanks to Hua Cao's warnings. When they sense one nearby, they quickly flee before it gets too close.
For now, they only dare to face first-stage zombies directly. As for the third stage, they have yet to encounter one.
For nearly half a month, they travel like this — walking, stopping, fighting, and surviving. By the time they finally reach the end of the national highway, Anran has worn out three pairs of shoes. Little Mint has blunted two fruit knives. They have collected countless crystal cores, all packed in plastic bags and stored in a large suitcase.