Chapter 473 “Come On, Give Me A Smile"
"At 4 a.m., is tme to refresh the shop once again."
[1. Randomly unlock a piece of equipment for 3999 coins.]
[2. Randomly unlock five storage slots for 2999 coins.]
[3. You may depart, obtaining a legendary skill and an additional bonus of 100 million apocalypse coins.]
"..."
A legendary skill? 100 million coins?
With a smirk, Ming thought the price was tempting indeed. Faced with these options, only the first one made sense. Before choosing, Ming went around and touched each person downstairs, playfully ruffling give me some luck"
[Your Da Vinci, still drowsy from sleep, looked at Foodie in confusion. "You dreamt of Ming, and you want us to send blessings?"]
[Your Foodie proudly flaunted his white belly. "As you know, when it comes to dreams, no one understands them better than me. You're aware of daydreams, my unique skill."]
[Your Da Vinci call to Merlin. Together, they faced the heavens, praying for Ming's every wish to come true and for all to go his way. Da Vinci added, "And bring back a wife."]
"Perfect!"
Excitedly, Ming hopes for a turn of luck. Without hesitation, he chose option one and unlocked a piece of equipment. The next moment, he held the Silver Bow of Guaranteed Victory, laughing, "Alan, fetch more spirit stones."
By 5 a.m., the city echoed with the screams of zombies. From all directions, they converged upon the 'bank', rushing like torrents, flowing through the streets, with their green, blue, and purple eyes.
In an abandoned factory at the city's edge, a zombie covered in bone armor stepped out of the darkness. Its deep orange eyes scanned the horizon as it let out a subdued growl."
Downstairs in the bank, Mike gulped down two potions of mental and physical strength, planting his heavy sword on the ground beside him. In each hand, he wielded a Gatling gun, indiscriminately firing at the oncoming zombies from the street. "Come! Taste my bullets.!" he bellowed.
From the five storage slots Alan had unlocked, one was stocked with spirit stones. He drew 500 units of spiritual energy and placed it beneath Mike's six-legged stand. "Only when you run out, you're allowed to die. If you don't use them up, you have no right to."
Then he moved to where Ming was, brandishing his Silver Bow of Victory, shooting arrows at the horde. Depositing 1000 units of spirit stones, he chided, "Boss, conserve your shots. Remember, you have a bow, not a machine gun."
"~~"
Ming was deeply engrossed, not hearing a word of Alan's advice.
Digennaro was eager to jump into the fray, but Hawkins, having just summoned a flower of mental and physical strength, stopped her. "Easy there. You're reserved for the elite and above. Besides, creating these flowers isn't a simple task. Use them wisely."
"Why can't you just make more in advance?" she retorted.
Hawkins paused. The girl had a point.
On the rooftop, David attached a box of spirit stones to the giant eagle's leg. Watching it take off, he then turned to the bound gazelle. "let's continue our chat."
…
Once Ming's Silver Bow of Victory was unsealed, its attributes elevated him to a five-star lord level, revitalizing his physical and mental energy.
The bow could simultaneously shoot ten spirit arrows. With Ming's skill, regular, elite, and lord zombies couldn't come close. Occasionally, when a king-class appeared, it was shot and repelled, its defenses shattered by Digennaro's laser beam, before being riddled with holes.
As time wore on, wave after wave of zombies was repelled. But fatigue set in, with everyone's physical and mental energy depleting and the never-ending army of zombies surging forth. Their reserves of spirit stones ran dry.
Once more, close combat ensued. Dawn's light painted the city, illuminating the battlefield on the streets.
"Boss, I've something to say," Alan declared, commanding his giant eagle to guard Ming's left side. "When I first saw you slay a lord zombie through my telescope from my rooftop, it gave me immeasurable strength."
With sweat beading his forehead and his arrow-shooting rate slowing, Ming replied, "So it was you, the little creep spying on me back then. Should've known."
"~~"
Alan went silent, forgetting what he was about to say.
Mike tossed aside the Gatling gun that had run out of spirit stones. He roared in laughter, swinging his heavy sword in broad strokes, "Come on, let's continue the fight!"
Hawkins pulled Digennaro back, "Young lady, stay behind us."
Instead of retreating, Digennaro lunged forward with her twin blades, slashing through zombies, "Don't forget, I'm a warrior too!"
David, peering down from the rooftop, untied the rope from the sheep's mouth, " I'm going to join my true brothers in the battle below. Live well." With that, he gripped his curved blade and made his way down.
Below, Ming wielded his Silver Bow like a club, smashing through the zombies and shielding Digennaro behind him. He looked to Alan, "Use the eagle to take Digennaro away. As far as possible."
"Okay!"
"No! You bunch of idiotic brothers! I've had enough of loneliness in the orphanage!"
Digennaro's voice cracked with emotion, tears glistening, "I'm not afraid of dying! I'm afraid of dying alone! Understand?"
"I get it." Ming used the bow to bash an approaching zombie, smiling at the young girl, "I understand."
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Mike brandished his long sword, laughing, "I'll go first!" He plunged into the horde.
Hawkins picked a little yellow flower, placing it on his chest, murmuring, "Even without me, you should still bloom."
For the first time, Alan showed a genuine smile, screaming in battle fervor. He'd forgotten he was a puppeteer.
David raced down the emergency stairwell, cursing, "Alan, you damn traitor! Not even using that damned bird of yours to get me down! You think I'll survive if you all die?"
"Baa~"
Hearing the sheep's bleat from behind, he chuckled, "Stupid sheep, get out of the way."
Below, the space for the fighters kept narrowing as they were pressed by the zombie horde, almost about to be overwhelmed. Suddenly, Ming started receiving a series of notifications:
Special Coin +1
Special Coin +2
Special Coin +5
Special Coin +1
It seemed that, even in the darkest of times, some unexpected rewards were to be had.
What's happening?
Roar!
A furious bellow sounded, overpowering the wails of the zombie horde. Mike, standing tall above the others, turned toward the source of the noise and chuckled, "A golden-eyed epic creature approaches. Perhaps our end will be swift. I..."
Suddenly, he spotted a massive cyclops-zombie, tall as a small tower, wielding a colossal log as a weapon. As it charged, it trampled the lesser zombies beneath it, rendering them as insignificant as ants.
"What?"
Mike was perplexed. Why would a zombie attack its own kind?
Then, another tall zombie, wielding a sapling as a weapon, swung it around, smashing through the zombie ranks. Not far from it, a giant mantis descended with its wings spread, its scythe-like arms reaping through the zombies as if they were wheat.
"Holy..."
Mike stared, mouth agape.
While Ming and the others fought fiercely against the zombies, he turned to Mike, "What's stunned you? What's happening?"
Mike, eyes wide, pointed, and stammered, "You might not believe me, but there's a massive thing, covered in mouths, tendrils, and pale red eyes, flying. It looks like a... a flying pile of excrement!"
"You're saying... a pile of dung came to life and is now soaring through the sky?"
Hawkins, fending off a zombie, raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"!!"
Ming, feeling a jolt inside, looked through an opening in the zombie horde. Indeed, a skyborne leech floated above, its tentacles lashing out, smashing the zombies to pieces. How did it get here? Could Napoleon be near?
"Behold Napoleon atop an armored boar, commanding the battle. The leech takes to the skies, attacking from above. Cyclops, join the fight, aid my master. Mantis and Treeman, sweep the sides, let none escape."
Napoleon, from afar, caught your stunned gaze and responded with a sly look, "Ming, you seem weaker since we last met. No matter, let me, Napoleon, carry from now on."
Napoleon, astride his armored boar, approached you, "Ming, fate is strange, meeting you here. See my grand army? Impressive, isn't it? You all seem rather frail in comparison."
"~~"
Ming gripped the frog, pondering. Wasn't this guy trapped in the mist? How could it penetrate such a barrier?
Ah, Napoleon has a unique trait: it recognizes no boundaries or limitations, and naturally, its puppets inherit this attribute. No wonder my special coin count surged so abruptly; it all makes sense now.
The flying leech and others are puppets of Napoleon, and Napoleon is my own little frog. The rewards for their kills get transferred to me. It all adds up. In a flash, under the overpowering might of these epic creatures, the wave of zombies is entirely eradicated.
At that moment, an emperor-tier zombie with orange eyes and a body covered in bone armor appears at a street corner. Upon spotting the epic-tiered beings, it takes a step back and vanishes around the corner.
Napoleon directs his gaze to the Cyclops, "Fetch that one, make it your underling." The Cyclops, clutching its colossal log, dashes forth in pursuit.
Napoleon then turns to you, "Ming, you missed me, didn't you? I'll stay here and keep you company for a while. Quite a delightful surprise, isn't it? Come on, give me a smile."