I Am the Protagonist 03

Fang Zhiyi didn’t even bother packing his shabby belongings, only grabbing some food before setting out.

Unlike others, he deliberately sought out places infested with zombies.

"Oh, nice legs on this one."

"This one’s got style! I’ll take it."

"What’s up with this freak?"

Little Hei reminded him, "That’s a Level 3 mutated zombie."

For Fang Zhiyi, even if his clothes got slightly dirty, all he needed was to touch them. In a way, anything he touched was as good as gone.

Relying on his ability to store zombies in his spatial inventory, Fang Zhiyi swaggered through, clearing a path straight into the zombie-ridden mall.

This place had fallen at the very beginning of the apocalypse, one of the most densely populated areas at the time, so supplies were still plentiful.

Actually, Fang Zhiyi didn’t know this—he was just stealing the protagonist team’s future loot. This was supposed to be their next stop, where they’d fight their way in with their numerous abilities and stuff all the supplies into their leader’s spatial storage.

"Ah well, since no one’s helping, guess I’ll have to do it myself." Fang Zhiyi sighed, shaking his head.

Snacks? Take ‘em. Clothes? Fang Zhiyi glanced down at himself—definitely take those. He wondered if all malls were the same: the first three floors packed with clothing and brand stores, the fourth and fifth floors all restaurants.

A foul stench wafted from the restaurants—clearly, the food had rotted.

A zombie dressed as a chef lunged at him with a cleaver, only to be tapped by Fang Zhiyi and instantly recruited into his ranks.

"Guess I should head to the basement."

Sure enough, the basement was a supermarket. Aside from the spoiled fresh produce, most of the goods were still intact.

But the problem was… this was also where the zombies were thickest, including a few that looked… different. After a moment’s thought, Fang Zhiyi realized—when the disaster hit, people must have tried hiding down here, and plenty had the same idea. Now, they were all zombie roommates.

"Tch, this won’t be easy." Fang Zhiyi clicked his tongue, resting a hand on a zombie’s shoulder. The zombie slowly turned its head—then vanished into thin air.

So he retreated to the movie theater upstairs, cleared out a few straggler zombies, and settled into a cozy private screening room for a nap.

No worries. Workers would come. Everything would come.

After two days of lurking, nearly every zombie in the mall—except those in the basement—had fallen victim to Fang Zhiyi. And at last, the workers he’d been waiting for arrived.

Originally, by this point in the story, Fang Zhiyi would have already joined them. But now, it didn’t seem to make much difference.

Lu Jingxiao, the team’s leader, strode ahead, crackling electricity flickering in his palm. From his perch above, Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes. So that was Lightning Ability? Pathetic compared to the heavenly lightning that had once chased him down!

Scanning the group, he spotted the idiot in the assassin’s vest—Wang Wei, one of Lu Jingxiao’s right-hand men. The long-haired woman was Qin Xue, and there were plenty of other familiar faces from the plot… except for Qin Weiwei.

Had she died? What a shame.

Watching them advance cautiously, Fang Zhiyi concealed himself.

"Boss! No zombies!" Wang Wei announced loudly.

"No zombies?" Lu Jingxiao frowned. Their scouts had reported this place crawling with them—which meant supplies should be abundant. That’s why he’d risked coming here. But no zombies?

Stranger still, there weren’t even any zombie corpses.

"The only explanation is something happened, and they left," Qin Xue suggested.

Lu Jingxiao nodded. That must be it. At least it saved them effort.

"Focus on gathering supplies!" Their group was large, and resources were running low. But soon, someone came running to report: "Boss, no supplies."

"Boss, nothing on the second floor either."

"Third floor… also empty."

Lu Jingxiao sucked in a sharp breath. This was bizarre. No zombies, no supplies?

Wang Wei theorized, "Maybe the zombies took the supplies?"

The image of a horde of zombies hauling away goods flashed through everyone’s minds.

Qin Xue covered her mouth, laughing. "Wang Wei, you’re hilarious."

Wang Wei chuckled.

Suddenly, something rolled toward them from the escalator. Wang Wei stepped on it, then bent to pick it up—a children’s toy, the kind that lights up and sings.

"What’s this…?"

Lu Jingxiao’s face darkened. "Danger! Throw it—!"

Too late. The toy erupted with deafening music.

"Grandpa’s name is what?"

"Grandma’s name is what?"

Everyone spun around, scanning their surroundings—then felt the ground tremble. A skeletal figure staggered into view at the escalator, lurching toward them.

Wang Wei tightened his grip on his iron rod, his body coated in a thin layer of earth—his Earth Ability at work.

As the zombie’s head exploded, more poured in from behind.

"The supermarket! They’re all in the basement supermarket!" Qin Xue realized, though it didn’t help much.

"Ability users, hold the front! Everyone else, fall back! Cover each other!" Lu Jingxiao barked orders.

Then, a blur shot out from the escalator, slamming into the opposite wall. Its limbs dug deep into the concrete as it let out a bone-chilling screech.

"Level 3 mutated zombie!" someone shouted.

Lu Jingxiao gritted his teeth, hurling a bolt of lightning.

A one-legged zombie slowly crawled up the escalator, only to be bumped and sent tumbling back down. Fang Zhiyi snickered, calling out, "Sorry, sorry! In a hurry here."

The zombie paused, then started dragging itself toward him. Ignoring it, Fang Zhiyi yanked a shopping cart and charged into the supermarket.

"Cookies, cupcakes, potato chips."

"Instant noodles, ready-to-eat rice, hot pot meals."

"Toilet paper, toilet paper, toilet paper…"

Everything in his path vanished. The daily necessities section, the snacks aisle—forget the fresh produce, it was long spoiled—and the water.

Fang Zhiyi remembered most supermarkets had a storage room packed with extra stock. After stripping the shelves bare, he headed straight for the door behind the drinks section.

Pushing it open, he froze.

A lanky zombie sat just inside, its arms endlessly tracing circles in the air.

It turned and saw him.

Little Hei helpfully chimed in, "In the original plot, this was a Level 2 mutated zombie—a smart one, the commander type."

Fang Zhiyi remembered now. When the original Fang Zhiyi came here, Lu Jingxiao’s team had faced a major obstacle—though the original never knew what it was.

Guess this was it.