The moment the glass shattered, I heard two zombie growls echo from the stairwell. Footsteps thundered downward—one from the third floor, which I expected, and another from the fifth or sixth floor. Soon, the third-floor zombie appeared—a middle-aged woman.

  She looked terrifying. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes rolled back, and her bloodied mouth hung open.

  I recognized her.

  She was the kind lady who lived below Ares. We’d eaten at her place a few times before. She used to be so warm and kind... Seeing her like this filled me with sorrow. I whispered, "Auntie... I'm sorry. I'll set you free..."

  As she lunged, I closed my eyes and swung my iron pipe. Thwack! My hands went numb from the impact. Without looking back at her fallen body, I turned and climbed the stairs, waiting for the second zombie.

  Before long, it appeared—a middle-aged man. I didn't recognize him. Standing between the second and third floors, I waited as he charged at me, snarling.

  My grip tightened on the iron pipe. One mechanical swing. CRACK. The zombie collapsed.

  I numbly walked to Ares's door and knocked. "Ares. Open up."

  Inside, Ares was still busy with the yarn. He'd heard the glass breaking and the zombie growls but hadn't realized I'd made it inside through the stairwell. He hurried to the peephole, saw me, and finally opened the door.

  The moment I stepped inside, I slammed the door shut and kicked Ares in the ass.

  Ares turned around, looking at me with a pitiful expression—like a victim watching the judge acquit their attacker. His face was full of grievance.

  Seeing that look made me even angrier. I kicked him again.

  Later, at lunch, we sat at the table eating bread I had taken from the supermarket. I told him everything I had gone through since yesterday, sparing no detail.

  Ares and I had similar backgrounds. Our parents were always away on business, gone for months at a time. We practically relied on each other. The trust between us was built over years. But... Ares could be unbelievably dumb sometimes—like just now.

  After hearing my story, Ares gasped. "Damn, so you're basically a superhero now?! Quick, let me try that Sunflower Manual technique!"

  I genuinely wondered what went on in his head. "You're that eager to castrate yourself?" (Annotation:Self-castration: the act of cutting off one's genitals.)

  Despite my words, I silently activated my skill on Ares. Instantly, he jumped up, yelling, "Holy shit! This is insane! George, I feel so safe around you now! For real, Sunflower Manual in hand, the world is mine! HAHAHAHA!"

  I watched him for a moment, then made up my mind.

  Calmly, I said, "Ares, you remember what I told you? When the Evolution Seed enters my body, separating it to give it to someone else costs half its energy. That means two seeds equals one full-powered seed. I've thought about it—I must have been the chosen one from the start. Otherwise, I wouldn't have leveled up after just killing one zombie. So far, I've acquired three Evolution Seeds. I'll separate the two of them for you. Even if I wasn't meant to be a chosen one, I'll still have one full Evolution Seed left. Worst case, I just lost a level."

  Ares's mouth fell open.

  I met his gaze and nodded.

  After a brief silence, Ares nodded back and said solemnly, "From now on, when we encounter zombies, you’ll kill them unless it's too dangerous. If we meet other chosen ones, I'll take them down so you can claim their Evolution Seeds."

  I smiled. "We're brothers. No need to be so formal."

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Then, in my mind, I issued the command: Separate two Evolution Seeds.

  The familiar robotic voice echoed in my head: "Confirm separation?"

  I responded silently: Confirm.

  A faint white glow began to emanate from my body, gradually concentrating on my forehead before emerging and forming a small, floating orb in midair. At the same time, the mechanical voice in my mind blurted out: "... Whoa, damn!"

  I quickly checked my level—sure enough, it had dropped to level five. My Lightning Sword skill had disappeared, and one of my skill points had been deducted at random. Unfortunately, my Mystic Visione powers have been temporarily shut down.

  Ares and I stared blankly at the glowing orb in front of us. After a long silence, Ares finally spoke: "Uh… how do we use this thing?"

  I continued to stare at the orb in a daze and muttered, "You're asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask?"

  Just as I was feeling lost, the mechanical voice sounded in my mind again: "Anyone who touches it can absorb it."

  Whoa, that’s insane! Without hesitation, I turned to Ares and urged, "Touch it! Just touch the orb!"

  Ares looked even more confused. "Uh… with what part of my body?"

  But then, a mischievous idea popped into my head. Putting on a serious face, I cleared my throat and said, "According to the AI's instructions… Ahem… you need to take off your pants. You get what I mean, right?"

  I was already laughing hysterically inside, just waiting for him to embarrass himself.

  To my utter shock, Ares actually took off his pants. He really believed me! I was so dumbfounded that I didn’t even have time to stop him. Then, with a thrust of his hips… the orb fused into him!

  After a moment, Ares looked at me and said, "Uh… no notifications or anything."

  I finally snapped out of my stupor, completely speechless. Little did I know that this ridiculous prank of mine would one day create a legendary figure known across the Six Realms—the "God of Light."

  I said, "You need to kill a zombie first. Then, you'll get the upgrade notification."

  Ares perked up. He ran to the balcony, rummaged around for a while, then came back holding a hatchet. Striking a dramatic pose, he grinned and asked, "George, what do you think? Do I look cool?"

  At that moment, I had a profound realization—there’s always a stronger fool out there. I rolled my eyes and said, "You fill your stomach first." When we're done, I'll take you downstairs for an upgrade."

  We quickly finished our meal. Ares was so impatient that if I hadn’t been there, he probably would’ve charged downstairs with his hatchet already.

  I grabbed my iron pipe, which was now slightly bent, but still usable. Not that it mattered much—I still had two kitchen knives in my inventory. After splitting off two Evolution Seeds, I felt a slight decline in my physical condition. The only real change was that my enhanced reaction speed had dropped from 250% to 220%, but overall, I didn't feel as great as I did before separating the seeds. I figured Evolution Seeds must be tied to boosting one's core energy. But I didn't dwell on it. If sacrificing a bit of my own power meant giving my buddy a better shot at survival, I had no regrets.

  When I opened the door, my eyes immediately fell on a male zombie lying at the corner between the second and third floors. Its head had been smashed in, and it lay there motionless. I gave a slight shrug and started heading downstairs.

  Despite all his earlier eagerness, Ares now clung to my clothes like a helpless little girl, hiding behind me as if he couldn't take care of himself. I sighed—what was I going to do with him?

  Just as I passed by the supposedly dead zombie, it suddenly moved! Its hand shot out, reaching for my foot.

  "Shit!"

  I didn't have time to think. I immediately stabbed its head with my iron pipe and dodged forward. But Ares was gripping my clothes so tightly that when I moved, I accidentally dragged him along with me.

  As a result… the zombie's hand grabbed onto his white pants.

  "AAAAHHH!!" Ares let out a terrified scream and bolted back upstairs.

  I, however, stood there in shock.

  Because… from the corpse of the zombie I had just killed, a small glowing orb floated out and quickly shot toward me.

  An Evolution Seed!

  The orb merged into my body!!

  At that moment, the mechanical voice chimed in again.

  Ares, who had apparently recovered from his fright, sneaked back over and saw me frozen in place. "George? Why aren't you moving?" he asked.

  I snapped out of it. "Nothing, let's keep going. But seriously, you need to toughen up."

  I activated the "Sunflower Manual" on Ares and said, "Your movement speed is now at 150%. If you need to run, you'll be fine. So stop clinging to me like a scared little girl!" I gave him a sharp warning.

  Ares gave me a pitiful look, his face full of grievance. But I ignored him and continued downstairs.

  When we reached the apartment entrance, I carefully scanned the surroundings. No zombies in sight. I motioned for Ares to follow me as we slipped out.

  After circling the area for a while, I suddenly spotted a figure crouched in the distant grass.

  Since my Mystic Vision skill was gone, my enhanced vision had weakened. Although the Evolution Seed had improved my physical abilities, I still couldn't make out who it was.

  Just as I was getting anxious, Ares, completely unbothered, casually reached into his backpack and pulled out a monocular telescope.

  I watched, dumbfounded, as he calmly unfolded the telescope and peered ahead.

  My mind went blank.

  When the hell did this guy buy a freaking telescope?!!!