Although Mingyue possessed witchcraft and now had a spatial ability, she was completely clueless about the apocalypse.
Ji Shiyou's understanding of the apocalypse was of great help to her, and moreover, he considered her needs, making him a qualified comrade.
Emerging from her spatial dimension, Ji Shiyou instructed Mingyue to store everything in his home into the space.
"Now, we need to go out and collect supplies. Based on my judgment, after the apocalypse arrives, the climate will change drastically, either extreme cold or extreme heat.
We must gather essential supplies before the climate shifts, including but not limited to food, gasoline, vehicles, medicine, and clothing.
With the spatial ability, we should collect all the seeds and seedlings we can find."
Taking out paper and pen, Ji Shiyou drew a map of Linhai City and planned their route.
When the apocalypse began, he had originally intended to stay put in his house with his food, awaiting rescue from the Dragon Alliance.
However, with Mingyue now by his side, he changed his plan to take the initiative, refusing to passively wait for death.
Waiting for rescue was a last resort, as it was filled with unknowns and variables.
The internet was still functional today, and he had already confirmed that almost the entire world was affected. Who knew if the Dragon Alliance could even spare them attention.
Even if rescue came, they would likely prioritize larger cities first, so they had to save themselves.
"I'm hungry!"
Seeing Ji Shiyou put on his backpack, change into long sleeves and pants, tuck in his trouser legs and sleeves, and grab a cleaver, ready to head out with determination.
Mingyue said softly. She had been cultivating for a day and a night, and her stomach was rumbling.
"Alright, I'm hungry too. Let's take out those frozen foods and cook."
In his excitement, Ji Shiyou had forgotten his hunger. When Mingyue mentioned it, he also felt his stomach growling.
He then asked Mingyue to take out the ingredients, as everything had been stored in the spatial dimension earlier, leaving nothing outside.
"They haven't thawed yet, and they're still frozen! It seems we shouldn't overlook frozen foods when collecting supplies."
While the water, electricity, and gas were still on, Ji Shiyou busied himself in the kitchen, creating a feast.
Cooking wouldn't be this convenient later, so making more now could be preserved in the spatial dimension.
After eating their fill, they stored the remaining food in the spatial dimension and headed downstairs.
"Zombies are infectious, so be extremely careful not to be scratched by them. Also, they have no sense of pain; even if you chop off their limbs, you can't kill them.
Only by severing their heads can they be completely eliminated. From now on, it's up to me!"
Hundreds of zombies were roaming in the residential complex. Smelling the scent of the living, they swarmed towards Mingyue and Ji Shiyou, their mouths agape, ready to attack.
Ji Shiyou imparted knowledge about zombies to Mingyue, then clenched his cleaver, gritted his teeth, and charged forward, though his trembling body betrayed his inner fear.
"Ah!"
Shouting to boost his morale, Ji Shiyou tried his best not to close his eyes.
Although he had gathered a lot of knowledge about the apocalypse and even written several novels, this was his first time facing so many zombies directly, and he still felt uncertain.
Reality was, after all, not a novel. His cleaver missed its mark, embedding itself in the zombie's shoulder, and got stuck.
The zombie, wearing a tattered uniform, was a security guard from the complex. Its face was so rotten that only shreds of flesh remained, emitting a foul odor.
Letting out an unpleasant guttural growl, the zombie extended its long-nailed hands towards Ji Shiyou's head.
"It's over, I'm dead."
As Ji Shiyou struggled to pull his cleaver free, he watched the black fingernails slowly approach his head.
In his peripheral vision, he saw other zombies surrounding him, and despair washed over him.
At that very moment, countless wind blades flew through the air, severing the heads of all the zombies, and they all collapsed to the ground.
The suddenness of the event caught Ji Shiyou off guard. Still gripping the cleaver, he was pulled down by the uniformed zombie.
When he scrambled to his feet, flustered, he saw Mingyue watching him from a distance. It was her, who had unleashed wind blades to kill the zombies when she saw him in danger.
"Actually, I could have handled it even without your help."
Out of male pride, Ji Shiyou said defiantly. To cover his embarrassment, he got into a private car with its door wide open.
The owner had likely been attacked by zombies while parking; the keys were still in the ignition. He immediately started the engine and beckoned Mingyue to get in.
With Mingyue's terrifying combat prowess, they moved through the zombie-infested streets as if no one was there.
Following Ji Shiyou's plan, they first headed to a large shopping mall closest to their complex.
The mall had five floors, covering a vast array of supplies for food, clothing, and daily necessities.
Parking the car at the mall entrance, Mingyue quickly dealt with the zombies wandering outside. With a gust of wind blades, she shattered the mall's main doors.
Since the apocalypse occurred at night, the mall was already closed. The interior was empty, and there were no zombies inside.
Casually conjuring an earthen wall to block the entrance, Mingyue, under Ji Shiyou's guidance, began collecting items into her spatial dimension.
The first floor housed a fresh food supermarket, a pharmacy, and a jewelry store. They bypassed the jewelry store, deeming it too valuable, and emptied the supermarket and pharmacy.
Ji Shiyou had explained that in the apocalypse, gold and diamonds were less valuable than a packet of biscuits and not worth wasting time and space on.
They then proceeded upstairs, taking clothing, quilts, and textiles.
To their pleasant surprise, the third floor was dedicated to outdoor survival gear, with all the clothing suitable for the apocalypse.
There were also various tools and equipment. Ji Shiyou discarded his dulled cleaver and picked up a military shovel.
He weighed it in his hand. Mingyue stored everything else, and thus, they moved upwards, clearing out all the supplies in the mall.
Following that, they raided a 4S car dealership, a wholesale food market, a general merchandise market, and a seafood market.
At a gas station, they collected several twenty-ton fuel tankers into the spatial dimension. Finally, they drove their vehicles to their last destination.
Linhai City Agricultural University, which housed a seed market selling seeds for all kinds of crops.
It also offered saplings of various fruit trees and even fry of fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs.
However, these were storefronts, and the number of zombies was considerable. Mingyue had to divide her attention to protect Ji Shiyou.
Therefore, it took them three hours to collect all the necessary items into the spatial dimension.
Night had fallen, and the two decided to head home. It was then that Ji Shiyou fell ill.
His body was burning hot, his skin flushed red, and his face contorted as if enduring extreme pain.
A large number of zombies gathered outside the car. Seeing this situation, Mingyue grabbed Ji Shiyou and entered her spatial dimension.
She first examined Ji Shiyou's body but found no cause for his illness.
She sensed a transformation occurring within him, as if a power was altering his body.
This situation was similar to a breakthrough in witchcraft. It should not be life-threatening, but the process would be agonizing.
Mingyue found a rope and tied Ji Shiyou up to prevent him from harming himself if he couldn't bear the pain. She then left the spatial dimension, intending to return home alone.
As night had fallen, the zombies were becoming more active, and some mutated animals would also emerge to hunt.
When night descends, one must stay in a shelter; this was a survival rule for living in the Great Wilderness.
Without Ji Shiyou as a burden, Mingyue no longer held back. She gestured with her hand, summoning a Qingluan.
The enormous Qingluan was multicolored, its wings spanning over five meters when spread.
This was a unique spiritual summoning technique of the Witch Clan, capable of summoning various spiritual entities for combat or transportation.
With the ground fraught with danger, the air would be much safer, allowing them to avoid many unknown perils.
Standing on the Qingluan, Mingyue looked down. The city, which should have been ablaze with lights, resembled a dead zone, shrouded in darkness.
Occasional zombie roars and terrified human screams served as proof of the world's transformation.
Lost in thought, Mingyue suddenly sensed countless shadows appearing around her.
Upon closer inspection, she saw swarms of bats flying from nowhere, encircling her and the Qingluan.
These bats were clearly mutated, each the size of a washbasin, with fangs measuring over three inches long.
Their eyes were blood red, emitting a bloodthirsty glow. There were tens of thousands of them, flying in a dense mass, completely surrounding Mingyue.
"Vampire bats."
Mingyue recognized the mutated species. These bats were inherently bloodthirsty, and any human or animal they surrounded would be drained dry.
Individually, they posed little threat, but their swarm behavior was terrifying, and they were fearless.
Once they targeted someone, they would pursue relentlessly. Even in the Great Wilderness, they were formidable opponents. She never expected such terrifying creatures to mutate in just two days of the apocalypse.
Mingyue didn't have much time to consider before the bats launched their attack.
Mingyue swiftly made a hand gesture, and a fireball appeared, shielding her and the Qingluan beneath her.
The bats crashed directly into the fireball, their skin and flesh burning, falling to the ground like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.
However, the bats were numerous. As the front ones fell, the ones behind immediately replaced them, relentlessly crashing into the fireball like moths to a flame.
Under the intense impact, the fireball's radius began to shrink, no longer able to contain the Qingluan's massive body.
Vampire bats swarmed towards the Qingluan. Thousands of them, exposed, lunged forward, sinking their three-inch fangs into it.
The Qingluan was a spiritual entity and had no blood, but it felt discomfort from the fangs piercing it and began to struggle violently.
The violent jolts threw Mingyue off balance, and the fireball, out of control, vanished.
The Qingluan let out a mournful cry and disappeared as well. Mingyue managed to steady herself in the air using wind control.
Countless bats then swarmed towards her, intending to drain her blood.