Chapter 3: Striking Back

First, he lured the nearest zombies into the restroom and killed them, then brought in a few more and killed those as well. This way, he wouldn't have to fight desperately with all the zombies at once. Thinking along these lines, Luffy felt quite clever for coming up with such a method. With this in mind, he quietly extended a hand outside the restroom, beckoning to the nearby zombies.

Those zombies turned around with a guttural moan, as if they'd discovered a new species, and began to shuffle toward the men's restroom, terrifying in their mindless hunger. Luffy hid behind the door, took a deep breath, and gripped his Azure Blade tightly, ready for battle.

One, two, three, four—four zombies entered. Luffy immediately shut the door. Sweat clung to his hands as he held the sword, breathing deeply. Suddenly, he raised the blade high and brought it down on the head of the last zombie.

A sickening sound echoed as the zombie's head was severed, flying to the side. Luffy struck again, cleaving the second zombie before it could react, ending its miserable existence with one blow.

Blood sprayed everywhere as the second head flew off. Luffy paused, surprised to see blood—none of the zombies he'd fought before had bled. With blood present, the zombies outside would surely swarm in. Thankfully, the door was closed; opening it would invite disaster.

The remaining two zombies bared their monstrous mouths and lunged at Luffy, ferocious and relentless. He kicked one, sending it flying across the room—his strength was tenfold that of an ordinary person. He struck again, decapitating the third zombie. Then, he threw his sword.

With a whistle, the Azure Blade flew straight into the neck of the last zombie. Blood poured from the wound, and after a few spasms, it died. Luffy pried four crystal nuclei from their skulls.

Suddenly, a translucent window appeared before him, revealing a new section in the marketplace: medicinal pills. Luffy tapped it, and a red pill appeared—ten crystal nuclei could be exchanged for a Dragon Blood Pill. Beside it, five nuclei could be traded for a Body Tempering Solution, which would triple one's strength.

Luffy ignored the Body Tempering Solution; the Dragon Blood Pill was clearly his best choice. He only needed to kill two more zombies to obtain the pill.

With that thought, he prepared to open the door—soon he wouldn't need to lure zombies out; he could eliminate them all at once. He sprang into action.

This time, he attracted eight zombies. As long as he was careful, he would be fine.

He moved quickly, opening the door just a crack, not daring to open it wider for fear the stench of blood would draw more zombies. The zombies in the corridor shuffled toward him, seemingly excited. The first one entered, and Luffy opened the door wider, hiding behind it. The remaining seven surged in, and Luffy shut the door.

The slaughter began.

Eight zombies—twice as many as before. But Luffy had developed skill fighting zombies; he was no longer panic-stricken, his eyes now resolute.

Blade flashing, blood spraying, it wasn't long before all eight zombies were dead. Luffy was drenched in blood, his Azure Blade dripping crimson, but he was exhilarated. Eight zombies slain meant twelve crystal nuclei—enough to exchange for the Dragon Blood Pill. The thought made him smile.

With another pill, his strength would increase twentyfold. If a person's strength was three hundred pounds, twenty times that would be six thousand pounds. Luffy was overjoyed—what kind of power was six thousand pounds?

He immediately pried open the zombies' skulls, collecting twelve nuclei.

With a thought, the translucent window appeared again. He tapped the pill section, then the Dragon Blood Pill.

"Would you like to spend ten crystal nuclei to exchange for a Dragon Blood Pill?"

Luffy pressed 'Yes.' A Dragon Blood Pill appeared in his temporary storage. With another thought, the pill materialized in his hand, and he popped it into his mouth.

A surge of heat burst from his stomach, coursing through his limbs and veins, making him feel nearly euphoric, filled with power.

His strength increased tenfold; now, he possessed twenty times normal human strength. One punch felt as if he could topple an ox.

He became much more confident.

With the corridor cleared of zombies, Luffy washed the blood off his body, then left the restroom, shutting the door behind him as he moved forward.

In a nearby classroom, he saw several students besieged by a group of zombies. The situation was dire.

Luffy realized something—crystal nuclei were valuable. One person could only kill so many zombies alone; to grow quickly, he needed more nuclei for Dragon Blood Pills.

If these survivors helped him kill zombies and collect nuclei, it would be much faster. Many hands make light work; one person can't do as much as two or three, nor as quickly. With a little investment, he could earn a pile of crystal nuclei.

With this in mind, Luffy rushed toward Class Three of Senior Year Three—his own class. If anyone needed saving, it should be his classmates.

Each zombie was a crystal nucleus. If he recruited the survivors as his subordinates to hunt zombies together, it would be much faster than fighting alone. Many hands make light work. With that thought, he sprang into action.

Arriving outside his classroom, he saw that a third of his classmates had become zombies, while the remaining two-thirds fought desperately—boys wielding desks against the monsters, girls cowering behind them in fear and panic.

Chen Hu was nowhere in sight.

Luffy dashed through the back door, Azure Blade in hand, cutting down zombies one by one with his immense strength, dispatching them as easily as slaughtering chickens.

One strike, one zombie.

Like the god of slaughter, Luffy charged forward, taking out five zombies in an instant and breaking into the crowd.

"If you don't want to die, help me kill them!"

He knew his classmates were innocent—the one who had angered him before was Chen Hu, not these students.

"How do we kill them?" A boy was so frightened he wet himself.

"Ah... I'm so scared, I want my mother..." Many were paralyzed with terror.

"Then die here," Luffy said coldly, rushing forward with his Azure Blade to slay the zombies that lunged at him.

Some boys swung desks at the monsters.

In that moment, seeing hope for survival, many students found courage and joined in, wielding chairs and smashing the zombies.

"Listen to me—smash their heads!" Luffy commanded sternly.

Many students looked at him in awe, so different from before—a true god of slaughter, his strength beyond belief, kicking down several zombies with ease.

Shouts and cries resounded.

Soon, all the zombies were eliminated. About twenty students remained, ten of them girls.

"Where did Chen Hu go?" Luffy asked his classmates.

"We don't know. After you left the classroom, he ran out too and hasn't come back. Then all this terrible stuff happened," said a boy, now addressing Luffy with newfound respect.

Without Luffy, they might have died.

"What happened? How did our classmates turn into monsters?" another boy asked.

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