After returning to the fortress, Leon stared at his sister's remains, a sharp ache twisting in his chest.
He scavenged for wooden planks and built a simple wooden crate, carefully laying Anna's body inside.
Then he picked up the photo of him and Anna from the table.
On the photo, Anna had scrawled Leon's name in her messy, childish handwriting.
Leon wiped the photo clean and placed it gently in the crate beside her.
He had discovered that zombie corpses were stored stacked in the space, only showing a single icon.
But items packed in crates were stored separately, each with their own distinct entry.
He would never let Anna be mixed in with those filthy zombie corpses.
So he chose the most hidden, quietest corner in his Infinite Storage, and carefully placed the wooden crate holding Anna there.
Even with his heart filled with hatred, there was still a ridiculous yet stubborn glimmer of hope hidden deep in Leon's chest.
He thought, if he could grow stronger step by step, stand at the top of this apocalyptic world, and wield unparalleled power, would he find a way to bring Anna back to life?
He knew this thought was utterly unrealistic, utterly absurd.
But what if?
If there really was such a chance, he would seize it no matter what.
Leon took out materials for repairing the gate from his space, and began welding and reinforcing the fortress door.
Once everything was in order, Leon collapsed exhaustedly onto the bed.
Too many things had happened this day: his sister's brutal death, the awakening of his Infinite Storage, the bloody battles all the way.
Countless images surged through his mind.
He needed to calm down, sort out his thoughts, and plan his next steps carefully.
Revenge.
Getting stronger.
And that faint, desperate hope of resurrecting Anna.
Every single one of these things could not wait.
Overwhelmed by physical and mental fatigue, he drifted off into a deep sleep as he thought.
Only his brows remained tightly furrowed, his whole body still surrounded by the lingering, cold killing intent.
Leon woke up promptly at seven in the morning.
It was a habit ingrained deep in his bones, forged by years of surviving the apocalypse.
This ruined world followed a cruel rule: once the sun set, every zombie in the area would enter a berserk state.
Even the most ordinary F-Rank Zombie would have strength comparable to a daytime E-Rank Mutated Zombie at night, growing far more vicious and dangerous.
That was why Leon had always strictly abided by the bottom line of survival.
He would always return to the fortress before dark, lock the doors and hold his ground, never going out at night.
Only when dawn broke and sunlight dispelled the night would he dare to set out to explore and scavenge for supplies.
But today, he had set a mandatory goal in his mind: to kill the E-Rank Mutated Zombie he had encountered the day before.
An E-Rank Mutated Zombie was far stronger than an ordinary F-Rank Zombie.
More importantly, the probability of them condensing a rare Crystal Core in their bodies was several times higher than that of ordinary zombies.
Hope and calculation brewed in Leon's heart.
If he succeeded in the hunt and obtained this E-Rank Crystal Core, he could test it in his Infinite Storage.
If the Crystal Core could also be infinitely duplicated, he could continuously enhance his physique with a massive supply of cores.
With an endless stream of Crystal Cores to boost his physique, and infinite resources supplied by his Infinite Storage.
By then, his confidence for revenge, and his hope of survival, would be infinitely amplified.
He quickly sorted out his emotions, calmly finished gearing up, and walked out of the fortress toward the direction where he had encountered the E-Rank Zombie the day before.
After walking for a distance, he took out the vehicle and sped away.
When Leon arrived at the gas station, he willed it, and five modified off-road vehicles appeared from his Infinite Storage, all piled up in one spot.
Holding a sharp dagger, he stabbed a vicious hole in the fuel tank of each vehicle one by one.
Thick gasoline flowed continuously from the cracks, pooling into a large, pungent puddle on the ground.
Overnight, a few scattered ordinary zombies had started wandering around the gas station again.
Leon raised his gun and fired with precision, killing them one by one, then stored all the zombie corpses into his space.
With the preparations complete, he waited quietly for the green-glowing E-Rank Mutated Zombie to appear.
It wasn't long before the horde of zombies from the direction of the shops was drawn by the noise, swarming over in groups.
At first, only a few scattered zombies approached. Leon kept his distance, firing aimed shots and steadily taking them out with headshots.
Then more than a dozen zombies arrived one after another. He remained calm and composed, using the terrain to keep firing and suppressing them.
After clearing the dozen ordinary zombies, Leon retreated two hundred meters, took out an off-road vehicle, and jumped onto the roof.
He raised his assault rifle, and through the low-power scope, carefully searched for traces of the E-Rank Mutated Zombie.
Soon, his target came into view.
It was a zombie surrounded by a faint green mist, moving at an astonishing speed.
Ordinary zombies blocking its path were sent flying two or three meters away with a single bump.
Leon immediately aimed and pulled the trigger.
Three gunshots rang out, but the bullets all grazed past the zombie's body.
The E-Rank Zombie's movement speed was far beyond his expectations, making a precise hit extremely difficult.
Leon took a deep breath to steady his mind, aimed again, and fired.
More than a dozen bullets were shot in succession, and only two hit the target in the end.
The bullets sank deep into the zombie's body, but failed to deal fatal damage, only slightly slowing its charging momentum.
The zombie closed in step by step, the distance rapidly shrinking from three hundred meters to two hundred and sixty meters.
It was only sixty meters away from the five vehicles.
Now!
Leon suddenly swung his gun around, firing wildly at the five abandoned vehicles with punctured, leaking fuel tanks ahead.
Bullets rained down on the steel bodies, but after a full magazine, nothing happened.
Leon did not dare to delay, quickly taking out another rifle and continuing to fire.
By this time, the E-Rank Zombie had already rushed right in front of the five vehicles.
Leon was ready to jump off the roof and retreat.
Finally, a bullet scraped against the vehicle body, sending up a shower of sparks that landed on the gasoline flowing across the ground.
Boom!
Raging flames shot straight into the sky, and the E-Rank Zombie happened to charge right into the sea of fire, letting out a shrill roar.
Leon's taut nerves relaxed slightly.
He had just loosened his clenched fist when he suddenly saw a burning figure burst through the flames, still charging madly toward him.
"Damn it! It didn't explode!" Leon cursed under his breath.
But in the moment Leon froze, the E-Rank Zombie had already closed in to within a hundred and fifty meters.
Leon gritted his teeth and decided to risk it all.
He willed it, and twenty vehicles appeared between him and the zombie, forming a thick, dense wall of cars.
The zombie was charging with immense momentum, unable to stop in time.
It slammed straight into the pile of cars, roaring furiously and tearing at the bodies with its sharp claws, the metal ripping apart under its attack.
Without time to think, Leon jumped off the roof, pulled open a car door, and sped backward at full throttle.
A dozen seconds later, a deafening explosion erupted behind him.
Leon looked back through the rearview mirror, and the area where the E-Rank Zombie had been trapped in the car pile had turned into a towering sea of flames.
Immediately after, a series of chain explosions rang out, the firelight dyeing the entire sky red.
Leon hit the brakes and stopped the car, turning to stare at the distant fire.
His heart stirred, and he raised his rifle again, aiming at the center of the flames and standing guard quietly.
A moment later, several ordinary zombies covered in fire staggered through the sea of flames, roaring and charging toward Leon.
The scattered flames in the sea of fire continued to spread.
Leon raised his rifle, calmly clearing away the remaining zombies around him.
The muzzle of the gun kept spitting fire, every bullet accurately hitting a zombie's head, not giving them any chance to get close.
Five minutes later, the last burning ordinary zombie fell to the ground with a thud, completely lifeless.
The surrounding area finally returned to a brief silence, with only the crackle of burning flames.
The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, blood, and burnt flesh, mixed together into the acrid stench unique to the apocalypse.
Leon steadied his racing heart, gripped his rifle, and walked slowly toward the edge of the sea of flames.
His steps were steady, yet his body was always taut, every step alert to the slightest movement around him, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
When he reached the edge of the sea of flames, the figure of the E-Rank Mutated Zombie came into view, in a horrific, pitiful state.
Its legs and right arm had been completely blown off in the earlier chain of explosions.
The wounds were a raw, bloody mess, charred flesh curling back from the mangled stumps.
Its remaining limbs were twisted at unnatural, impossible angles.
It clung to the scalding ground with only its left arm, its sharp claws digging deep into the dry, cracked dirt.
It dragged its broken, mangled body with difficulty, crawling slowly toward Leon.
Hoarse, ferocious roars rumbled in its throat.
Its scarlet pupils were filled with bloodthirsty hatred, exuding extreme ferocity even on the brink of death.
Leon's eyes were cold, without the slightest hesitation.
He quickly raised his assault rifle, the crosshairs locked firmly on the zombie's head, and pulled the trigger without mercy.
Gunshots rang out in quick succession, five or six bullets all slamming into the E-Rank Zombie's skull.
Its roars stopped abruptly.
Its broken body crashed heavily to the ground, completely motionless, its dark green eyes losing all their light at last.
After confirming the zombie was completely dead, Leon slowly stepped forward.
He crouched down and searched carefully, his fingertips brushing aside the charred flesh, looking for the unique Crystal Core inside the zombie's body.
He found nothing.
"Nothing?" Leon muttered under his breath, a wave of intense disappointment washing over him.
He had risked his life and gone to so much trouble to kill this E-Rank Zombie, only to end up without the most critical Crystal Core.
All the danger and effort had been for nothing.
He pushed down the disappointment in his heart, raised his hand, and stored all the scattered zombie corpses on the ground into his space.
Then he quickly returned to his car, raised his rifle again, leaned his back against the vehicle, and aimed warily around him, continuing to wait quietly.
Given the current situation, he had enough time left to hunt a few dozen more zombies.
That number was just right; he did not dare to ask for more.
After all, the previous chain explosions and continuous gunshots had made far too much noise.
In the perilous apocalypse, such a loud commotion was like a beacon in the dead of night.
No one knew what terrifying mutated monsters it would attract.