Kane smashed open the first Star Shard. Familiar white light flooded the dark night， bright enough to be seen for miles.

  Kane didn’t care. There wasn’t another soul within a mile， except for the Food Supply， long gone.

  When the light faded， a single scarlet pill y in the dirt. He didn’t recognize its effects.

  In his past life， Star Shards had yielded millions of different items. No one knew them all. But he did know this: besides Abilities， pills and serums were the rarest， most valuable things you could pull.

  This was a good start.

  He knew once he had True Sight， he’d be able to identify anything. He didn’t dwell on it， and smashed open the second Shard.

  This time， the white light didn’t fade after three seconds. It lingered.

  Kane’s breath caught in his throat.

  From what he’d learned， the longer the light sted after breaking a Shard， the more valuable the item inside.

  The SSS-Rank Soul-Binder Serum had glowed for a full minute， and it had been gold， not white.

  This light sted five full seconds.

  Could this be E-Rank? Or higher?

  Finally， the light faded. A simple bronze ring y in the dirt.

  When Kane saw it， his eyes went wide.

  “A Spatial Ring.”

  He couldn’t stay calm. Even the smallest Spatial Ring was worth as much as an A-Rank piece of gear.

  In the nomadic hell of the Wastend， a Spatial Ring was a second life.

  It was rarer than most A-Rank gear， too.

  He hadn’t gotten his hands on one until the fifth year of the Colpse in his past life， and only then because Liam had built up enough power and influence to trade a fortune for it.

  Kane slipped the ring onto his finger. With a single thought， the modified bone saw in his hand vanished.

  He could feel it， sitting safely in a 350 cubic foot pocket of space.

  Another thought， and the saw was back in his hand.

  It was real. A genuine Spatial Ring.

  It was smaller than the one he’d had in his past life， but for now， it was more than enough.

  It took a long time for his heart to stop racing. He stopped pying with the ring， lifted the saw， and smashed open the third and final Shard.

  When the light faded， a vial of bright blue serum y in the dirt.

  The B-Rank Ability Awakening Serum: True Sight.

  This was the Ability that had kept him alive for seven years in the Colpse. It was woven into his soul， had been with him through life and death.

  It had warned him of countless dangers， saved his life more times than he could count.

  It wasn’t a combat Ability. It was only B-Rank.

  But True Sight let him see the truth of anything and everything.

  In his past life， even powerful Ability Users had come to him， begging him to identify rare treasures. It had made him a fortune， and earned him powerful allies.

  It was one of the reasons he’d been able to build Eden Stronghold.

  Kane pushed the memories away. He stored everything he was carrying in the Spatial Ring， and turned back toward the zoo.

  Absorbing a B-Rank Ability Serum was agonizing， and it would take three full hours. He needed a safe pce to hide while it happened.

  And for the macaque， he pnned to stay in the zoo overnight.

  Animals would mutate at the same time the Infected rose: midnight. He wanted to unlock True Sight before then.

  When he reached the zoo， he headed for the colpsed administrative building. He used the Spatial Ring to gather intact chunks of concrete and meteors that had nded on soft ground， unburied.

  He was building a temporary shelter.

  When the ring was full， he found a ft patch of ground and unloaded the concrete. He built a small， triangur shelter with rge chunks of concrete， then stacked more concrete and meteors around the outside for reinforcement.

  He made trip after trip， until the shelter was a 20-foot tall mound of concrete and rock， like a barrow tomb.

  Kane bent down and crawled inside. The space was barely bigger than a coffin.

  He unloaded the rest of the concrete from the Spatial Ring， sealing the entrance completely shut.

  When it was done， he ignored his exhaustion， pulled out the True Sight Serum， and downed it in one go.

  Instantly， a searing， burning heat spread from his stomach to every corner of his body. It was like he’d been thrown into a bonfire. Sweat poured down his face， but his expression didn’t change. He y perfectly still in the dark.

  This pain was familiar. He’d missed it.

  “Hell yeah!” He ughed， wild and breathless， even as the pain wracked his body.“The Infected haven’t even risen yet， and I’ve already got two Abilities. Who in this world can match me?”

  No one knew that in the desote ruins of the world， a man was ughing through agony no ordinary human could bear.

  The seconds ticked by. Each one felt like an eternity.

  Kane had the willpower to withstand it， but his body was still that of an ordinary human. Sooner or ter， he bcked out.

  He hadn’t expected it. The SSS-Rank Soul-Binder Serum had already pushed his body to its limit. Absorbing a second Ability was far harder than it had been in his past life.

  When midnight came， he was still unconscious.

  ROAR!

  URGH… AGH!

  In that instant， the dead， silent world roared to life. The ground shook. Rubble shifted and tumbled. Countless buried corpses cwed their way out of the dirt and ash.

  30 miles away， in the colpsed mall， a 12-year-old girl jolted awake.

  “What was that? Kael? Is that you?”

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The door Kael had blocked shut before he left was rattling. Something was pounding on it from the other side.

  “Kael， stop! I’ll open the door!” Wren called out， giddy with relief. She ran to the door， undid the locks， and pulled it open.

  The next second， she was staring at a half-crushed face， bck and rotting. Half the man’s skull was gone.

  A chunk of his cheek hung by a single vein， swaying back and forth， exposing white bone beneath.

  Wren froze. Terror stole her voice， her breath， her ability to move. Then she screamed， and turned to run.

  She was too slow. The Infected grabbed the back of her shirt， yanking her back， and opened its rotting， stinking jaws to bite down.

  “HELP!” Wren screamed， sobbing.

  Bang!

  The Infected went rigid， then colpsed on top of her， dead.

  Kael， covered in cuts and bruises， dropped the steel pipe in his hand. He kicked the Infected’s body off his sister， grabbed her， and smmed the door shut.

  “Wren? Are you okay?” He whispered， his face tight with worry.

  Wren looked up， saw it was Kael， and burst into tears. Kael spped a hand over her mouth.

  “Shut up. The dead are walking. I saw Mom and Dad out there. They crawled out of the rubble.”

  His eyes were bloodshot， his voice shaking.“They’re Infected. Just like the movies. They’re monsters now.”

  Wren stared at him， stunned.

  She’d seen those movies. The color drained from her face.

  “It’s okay. I’m here. I won’t let them get you. But you have to do exactly what I say.” Kael whispered.

  Wren pushed past him， and peered through the crack in the wall.

  More and more Infected were gathering outside the mall， crawling out of every crevice， every pile of rubble， every patch of dirt.

  She saw a female Infected， trapped under a crumpled car， its lower half crushed. It twisted and writhed in a way no living human could.

  Snap!

  Something in its body broke. The Infected ripped its own upper body free， leaving its lower half in the car. It crawled forward fast， its intestines and bck blood dragging behind it across the concrete.

  Wren doubled over， retching， but didn’t dare make a sound. Tears streamed down her face.