Chapter Twelve: Conquering Fear

Fang Xia took the bone-shaving knife from his spatial ring and handed it to Bai Xing.

"Go ahead without worry. I'll cover you. Zombies are much weaker in daylight, and this one is a female. You can do it."

His words left no room for doubt; Bai Xing knew Fang Xia had made up his mind.

She had said before that she would never hold him back. Now was truly the time to prove her strength. Yet why did it have to be now? Why did it have to be her?

Bai Xing hesitated, but the zombified Xiao Tian had no such doubts. Fang Xia moved aside with ease, and Xiao Tian ignored him entirely, lunging straight at Bai Xing, her resentment palpable.

"No!" Bai Xing shouted, her hand trembling as she gripped the knife, choosing to dodge rather than attack.

Xiao Tian missed her target, unwilling to give up, and turned to pounce again. Fang Xia had given her the knife, and he certainly didn’t mind teaching her how to survive in the apocalypse—but crossing this threshold was something Bai Xing had to do herself.

Seeing Fang Xia making no move to help, Bai Xing was instantly overwhelmed with despair. Still, she gripped the knife tightly, her fingers turning pale.

Xiao Tian attacked once more. Bai Xing dodged again, but this time Xiao Tian stumbled and lunged toward Fang Xia instead.

Fang Xia watched as Xiao Tian rushed at him, sighed quietly, and kicked her in the abdomen. Xiao Tian rolled backwards, tumbling four or five meters away.

Fang Xia stood, marveling at how strong he had become.

He stepped behind Bai Xing, wrapped his arms around her, covering her hands as they clutched the knife, and whispered by her ear,

"Bai Xing, listen to me. She may once have been your dearest friend, but now she's dead. Now she's nothing but a zombie, consumed only by the urge to eat human flesh. If you want to survive this apocalypse, you must kill her. If you don't, she'll devour you."

Bai Xing was terrified, tears streaming down her beautiful face.

"I can't. I can't do it."

Fang Xia gently shook his head, slowly guiding Bai Xing forward.

"You can. I believe in you."

He released her and gave her a gentle push.

If you wish to wield power, you must overcome every fear and obstacle yourself, only then are you worthy of power.

---

With Fang Xia's push, Bai Xing screamed, closed her eyes, and swung the knife wildly as she ran forward.

The bone-shaving knife struck Xiao Tian’s head heavily.

Fang Xia stopped, and Bai Xing, unable to hold the knife any longer, slumped to the ground beside Xiao Tian’s corpse.

The girl who had held strong since the apocalypse began finally broke down and cried.

On the way back, Fang Xia continued to lead, killing zombies ahead, while Bai Xing followed silently behind. But now, she carried the bone-shaving knife in her hand.

In the apocalypse, people may have conscience and boundaries, but there is no room for excessive kindness.

If Bai Xing couldn’t cross this hurdle, she would never become the master standing at the peak.

Xiao Tian had generously dropped a Tier One upgrade crystal for Fang Xia. Now, he had seven in total. With three more, he would become a true Tier One Fighter.

At this stage, even those who dared to kill zombies would not discover the secret of the upgrade crystals so quickly. Fang Xia’s goal was to stay ahead of everyone.

In the apocalypse, you never know what dangers await, but one thing is certain: you don’t have to be the strongest, only stronger than the weakest. That way, you have a chance to survive.

Another wave of zombies appeared. Fang Xia dispatched them effortlessly, like slicing vegetables. When only two remained, Bai Xing suddenly charged forward in a frenzy.

[Kill, kill, kill—slaughter every zombie!]

Fang Xia looked at Bai Xing in surprise, seeing her lose herself, but he stepped aside, yielding the battlefield to her.

Facing two zombies at once was easy for Fang Xia, but for Bai Xing, it was much more challenging.

Bai Xing hacked wildly, venting her sorrow with no strategy, only exhaustion.

The most troublesome thing about zombies was their corpse poison; you could not afford to be wounded, not even slightly.

Fang Xia watched the foolish girl helplessly—her reckless attacks were useless, only wasting energy. He had to teach her how to fight wisely and efficiently with limited stamina.

"The head is their only weak spot. Striking anywhere else is pointless."

Bai Xing slashed several times, her knife hitting only their hands, twice their chests, but it had no effect.

Hearing Fang Xia’s words, Bai Xing’s eyes flickered, regaining a measure of clarity.

She attacked again, twisting out of the zombies' deadly grasp with an odd movement, then reversed her grip and brought the knife down on one’s head with all her strength.

That strike drained her last ounce of energy, and she collapsed to the ground.

[He forced me to kill Xiao Tian, but I know he did it for my sake. Xiao Tian was already a zombie, but I still feel so much pain.]

---

Bai Xing thought as she hacked madly at the zombies, but now she was much improved. Her technique was still rough, but her attacks focused on their heads.

Fang Xia was not idle either; his battle blade struck the head of the other zombie with precision.

"Inside a zombie's skull, there’s a chance for a crystal to form, like this," he said, showing an upgrade crystal in his hand.

"This is important. Search for one."

Bai Xing had seen Fang Xia’s actions before and knew there was something he needed inside their heads, but had always been behind him and couldn’t see clearly. Now she realized it was this small, transparent crystal—quite beautiful.

Taking a breath, Bai Xing climbed to her feet, suppressing her nausea, and stirred the zombie's head with the bone-shaving knife, mimicking Fang Xia’s method.

She had crushed one’s head, but found nothing.

After retching a few times, Bai Xing’s face grew cold and expressionless. She moved to the next corpse.

As soon as the knife slipped in, it struck something. She flicked the tip, and a white, transparent crystal emerged, identical to Fang Xia’s.

A trace of joy appeared on Fang Xia’s face—eight now.

Though Fang Xia said nothing, Bai Xing obediently handed the upgrade crystal to him, with no other thoughts.

Their commotion in the campus attracted the attention of other survivors. From the surrounding dormitories, countless eyes gazed at them.

"Is that Bai Xing?"

"It really is her—how is she so powerful, able to kill zombies?"

"The guy with her is even more impressive. He fights several zombies at once without breaking a sweat."

"He’s so handsome. Where did he get that weapon?"

As Fang Xia continued his slaughter, most of the zombies in the university district were wiped out, and the survivors hiding in the dorms began to talk.

"Maybe we should follow that man. It’s better than waiting here to die."

As soon as someone suggested it, many others quickly agreed.