Of the three corpses, Song Qiming decisively chose the Versace one.
This person had killed someone here before, even if it was a zombie. Digging into his skull would make him feel less guilty.
No one else stepped forward to do it. Su Duoduo didn't care either, picking some snacks from the shelves and sitting with Ye Xin at the counter, eating on their own.
Because the bones were exceptionally hard, Song Qiming aimed the knife carefully and hacked down with all his might. Blood splattered all over him, and the knife got stuck.
"Ugh~"
A thick, white liquid flowed out. Song Qiming immediately turned his face away and vomited for a while. After catching his breath, he wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve and steeled himself.
He knew he couldn't back down. He went to the shelves again and found a cleaver. After digging a second time, he fished out a shiny object from inside the skull.
"Haha, I found it!" Song Qiming laughed, vaguely feeling that this was a good thing. As a guy, he liked reading web novels. He knew a thing or two, more or less.
He pulled out the crystal, examining it closely. It was a glossy black, about the size of his pinky.
So, do I just eat it? While he was pondering how to use it, Su Duoduo's voice came, mixed with the sound of her chewing.
"A Mutated Black Crystal. It's a bit smaller than described, but only one in ten thousand zombies on the first day have a Crystal Core. Eating it gives you a nine in ten chance of awakening an Ability. Just a heads up, this is my stuff. Once you take it and awaken your Ability, you'll be working for the Su Clan, and your life will be in their hands. Betrayal means execution!"
Compared to the risk-free absorption, swallowing it directly had a chance of turning him into a zombie, but Song Qiming, being an ordinary person, had no other choice.
"You're just giving this to a stranger, you little idiot?" Ye Xin was puzzled. This thing would increase mental stats even for me, right? It should be useful to her.
"Who are you calling a little idiot? Do you believe I'll cripple your other hand?"
Su Duoduo was eating happily when Ye Xin suddenly blurted that out, causing her to spit out the potato scraps she hadn't swallowed yet.
Her small face crumpled. She turned her head, her cute, big eyes narrowed, staring intensely at Ye Xin. Her small hand reached under the counter, gathering a blade that pressed against his waist, right on target.
It seemed as if she sensed the energy fluctuations beneath the counter. Ye Xin glanced down, startled, and quickly begged, "Don't... don't! We agreed... I'll call you Princess Duoduo, okay? ...My dear Duoduo..."
This little loli was so fierce. He should probably talk less trash from now on.
"That's more like it..." Su Duoduo put away her blade, leaned closer to Ye Xin, and rubbed her face against the bandage on her left hand, smearing the remnants from her mouth.
"Damn, there are plenty of tissues in the supermarket! Why are you rubbing it on there!" Ye Xin said angrily. He was about to break free when an invisible force bound him in place, and he could only watch helplessly as Su Duoduo ravaged his bandage.
It was better not to say anything. As soon as he did, Su Duoduo ate a few more bites and started wiping her mouth on the sleeve of his other hand. After wiping her mouth, she didn't forget to lift her proud little head and said triumphantly, "Hmph... come hit me!"
"&^*&^$%"
In the eyes of others, they were a couple flirting with each other.
Song Qiming thought long and hard, silently prayed for a moment, and then suddenly opened his eyes and swallowed it.
Time to find out if he's the real deal.
"Ah~"
Pain!
Excruciating pain. The veins on Song Qiming's forehead bulged, his hairs stood on end, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.
"Do you have to be so dramatic?"
Ye Xin was speechless at the commotion. Anyone who didn't know better would think this guy was the protagonist.
"The life energy from the Crystal Core will take effect soon. The more pain he feels, the rarer the Ability he's awakening is likely to be," Su Duoduo explained, her small eyes fixed on him, also worried something might go wrong.
Just an awakening, and the atmosphere was getting tenser. Ye Xin looked at Su Duoduo's cute and focused profile and felt inexplicably uneasy. He wanted to find something to do to suppress his inner anxiety.
The supermarket had a back door, and the stairwell led to the first-floor cafeteria's kitchen.
Ye Xin rubbed his stomach and decided to go to the cafeteria to find something to eat. It hadn't been many hours since the apocalypse broke out, so the ingredients were still fresh, and there were plenty of snacks to save for later.
"Where are you going?" Su Duoduo turned around, frowning as she asked. At this critical moment, didn't the young lady need to look after another burden?
"Just going downstairs for a walk," Ye Xin said casually.
"Do you need me to follow you?" Su Duoduo asked.
Ye Xin thought for a moment. The cafeteria kitchen was relatively safe. Although he'd never been in there, people were inside, busy preparing food, so there shouldn't be many infected.
He was afraid that some people, not believing in evil, would go outside to watch the excitement, just like the crowds on TV.
"No need, I'll be right back."
"Hmph, who wants to follow you anyway!"
Seeing Ye Xin leave so coldly, Su Duoduo was a little unhappy. Suddenly, Song Qiming's upcoming awakening of his Ability didn't seem so exciting anymore.
Better to follow him and see what that guy was up to.
After the two left, one in front and one behind, everyone else present breathed a sigh of relief, but the thought of someone lying on the ground, having eaten something, and still howling incessantly, made their hearts race.
"Sister Juan, they're gone, what do we do?" A girl in the crowd asked softly.
"How would I know? They should've gone to the cafeteria's kitchen. They left us here, in case that guy turns into a Zombie after eating the Crystal Core... Why don't you guys, the men, find something to deal with him before it's too late?"
"Easy for you to say, why don't you go? Maybe he really awakens that kind of Power, and then our lives will have another layer of protection."
The group was whispering amongst themselves, and their gazes finally landed on the skinny boy.
"Wang Jie, you take a knife and watch him. Kill him if he turns."
"I... I can't..." Wang Jie forced a smile, shaking his head repeatedly. All the dirty work always fell to him. Those people couldn't be disobeyed, but what right did they have to order him around?
"Who are you going to kill?"
At some point, Song Qiming had gotten up, one hand covering his forehead. He asked coldly, his voice deep.
His clothes were disheveled, his hair was messy, and his body crackled with electricity.
"Song... Brother Song, have you awakened?" Wang Jie asked tremulously.
"Hmm... Is this an Ability?" Song Qiming clenched his right hand, then held it out flat in mid-air. He narrowed his eyes, and a current of electricity surged into his hand.
"Electricity? Really awakened... eating that stuff can awaken it." After witnessing the power of the other two, Song Qiming's doubts about his Ability/Power faded significantly.
"Damn, that little girl said to dig open the heads of those corpses. The other two haven't been opened yet, could it be..."
That's how people are. After seeing such a great temptation, fear is overcome. They scrambled to grab the two unopened ones.
Song Qiming wasn't stupid enough to give them time. Even if they got them, they might not be theirs. After hearing that the girl had gone downstairs, he knew he was free. Maybe eating another one would make him even stronger.
After awakening, he had expended a lot of energy, and his stomach was a bit empty. He scavenged food from the shelves and ate it ravenously while watching them fight desperately for the chance to dig out the Crystal Cores.
....
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Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
"Game of Thrones: Political Life"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Gods' Apocalypse: What Should I Do When the Loli is a Bit Fierce?"
"My Sister And I are in The Apocalypse"
(End Chapter)