That night, at Zhongshan, after sending Xu San away, Lu Yin once again climbed onto the large tree outside the military tent, gazing up at the sky.
The apocalypse had purified Earth's air, allowing him to see more stars.
For several days, he had been cultivating the Celestial Star Technique. Mimicking the movement of stars was no easy task. Initially, Lu Yin had no clue how to proceed. However, after touching Zhou Shan's slash marks today and vaguely sensing the power from his battle with Orton, he felt inspired, his eyes fixed intently on the night sky.
As time passed, the ambient noise around him gradually faded. The other stars in his vision also slowly disappeared, leaving only the moon emitting a bright glow.
This beam of light illuminated the night sky and also shone upon Lu Yin, causing everything else to vanish from his sight.
Unconsciously, Lu Yin raised his hand. The air rippled, and energy seemed to be visibly absorbed into his body. In his palm, a star faintly shone—it was the moon, orbiting around his hand. A star appeared in his palm; this was the Celestial Star Palm.
Lu Yin's body swayed as he regained consciousness, staring in shock at the star in his palm. At this moment, he could feel the terrifying power of this star. Although he had no point of comparison, Lu Yin felt that this palm strike might even astonish Zhou Shan.
Lu Yin casually dispersed the star, sensing the surging star energy within his body. This was energy he had absorbed, unrestricted by energy crystals, absorbed anytime and anywhere. Moreover, his absorption speed was twice as fast as those like Asta. This was the Celestial Star Technique—he had finally mastered it.
At the moment Lu Yin dispersed the star in his palm, Zhou Shan suddenly opened his eyes. For an instant, he felt a slight unease, but it quickly vanished. "An illusion? Seems today's battle was too exhausting."
The next day, Lu Yin received a notification: Saint Zhou Shan had personally ordered him to support the northern front.
The northern front was the battlefield connecting Jinling to the northern capital. Zhou Shan had always aimed to link Jinling with the capital and then connect with the other six saints to jointly reclaim Huaxia. The idea was sound but extremely challenging. Just a small path had taken several months to clear, and not even a tenth of the journey had been completed. Communication lines had long been severed.
The front was crucial to Zhou Shan. No matter how difficult, his focus remained on the front. Of the fourteen battalion commanders in the Execution Camp, nearly half were at the front, showcasing Zhou Shan's determination to connect with the capital.
This time, Lu Yin, Kang Dafeng, and Luo Yun were dispatched to the front. Luo Yun was the alluring battalion commander who had always been curious about Lu Yin.
Leading an army of ten thousand, Lu Yin and the others departed Jinling, heading north.
"Rather than saying we're supporting the front, it's more accurate to say we're repairing the route," Luo Yun said wearily.
The army had been marching for a day with little rest, no wonder Luo Yun complained.
The journey was bumpy, with occasional vehicle repairs and road leveling, slowing their progress.
Inside another armored vehicle, Lu Yin rested with his eyes closed, occasionally looking up at the sky. Staring at the glaring sun, he wondered if he could simulate the sun's trajectory. If successful, his star energy absorption rate would double. He felt he was close to the Exploration Realm.
However, simulating the sun wasn't easy. Perhaps he should start with Earth; he didn't necessarily need to observe the starry sky. Searching for peacetime galaxy map videos could also help.
Simulating the movement of stars was about aligning with the universe's rhythm. Lu Yin needed to keep trying continuously.
Passing through a city, flames burned on both sides. Zombies roamed, occasionally attacking the convoy, only to be mowed down by the army's firearms.
"Conserve your ammo; we only have so much," Kang Dafeng scolded, immediately reducing the frequency of gunfire.
Inside the armored vehicle, Xu San sneered, "The longer the apocalypse lasts, the less useful hot weapons become. If we don't use them now, when will we? Soon, these guns will be worthless scrap."
Lu Yin looked out the window, seeing more and more zombies gathering, frowning. "Order everyone to speed up. Don't get surrounded by a zombie horde in the city; it's a waste of time."
"Got it, boss," Xu San responded and exited the armored vehicle.
Soon, the convoy accelerated.
Having defeated Zhao Yu, Lu Yin held a high position among the battalion commanders. Kang Dafeng and Luo Yun didn't dare oppose him.
Speaking of Zhao Yu, Lu Yin genuinely admired her. She dared to traverse regions alone and safely arrived in Jinling—a courage not everyone possessed.
Before long, the convoy stopped; the road ahead was destroyed and under repair.
Lu Yin closed his eyes, tapping the air with his fingers, occasionally rotating them, mimicking the trajectory of stars.
Suddenly, a loud shout was heard. Kang Dafeng had taken action, slaying zombies while cursing.
Lu Yin glanced impatiently but paid no further attention.
Xu San exclaimed, "As expected of a battalion commander; those zombies fled in fear."
"Tell Kang Dafeng to return and continue moving forward. There are too many zombies to kill them all," Lu Yin said coldly.
Xu San nodded and was about to get out of the vehicle but turned back helplessly. "Boss, Kang Dafeng chased the zombies into that abandoned building."
Lu Yin looked up for a while, then got off the armored vehicle, his expression serious.
"Boss, what's wrong?" Xu San asked.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. "There's no sound."
Xu San thought for a moment. "Yeah, that building is quiet—no sounds of fighting."
"Brother Lu, where did Kang Dafeng go?" Luo Yun came over and asked.
Lu Yin said in a deep voice, "You two stay here. I'll go take a look." With that, he pulled out his iron rod and walked toward the abandoned building.
Asta's short blade was still in Jinling. Lu Yin had never expected the Execution Camp to return it to him, and he had also declined the steel blade Zhou Shan offered. He continued to use the iron rod.
Flames burned around the outside of the abandoned building. Even under the sunlight, it looked especially grim.
Lu Yin stepped slowly into the building. The first thing he saw was Kang Dafeng's blade—but the man himself was nowhere to be found.
Lu Yin moved step by step into the building, taking out Asta's personal terminal from his void ring. He tapped a few times to scan for combat power. An arrow appeared on the screen, pointing to the rear-right direction, along with a number—900.
Lu Yin suddenly sidestepped. A white silk-like thread pierced through the air and slammed into the wall, leaving a huge crack.
Lu Yin focused his gaze—it was a massive mutated spider. Its six pairs of blood-red eyes were terrifying, and there was a blood-stained piece of cloth by its mouth—it came from the Execution Camp.
Lu Yin sighed. Kang Dafeng was dead, eaten by this mutated spider. He had arrived too late.
The mutated spider had a combat power of 900—equivalent to the peak of the Earth-level. Kang Dafeng had only just entered the Earth-level; naturally, he stood no chance.
Lu Yin gripped the iron rod tightly and suddenly charged forward. The iron rod swept across. The mutated spider's eight legs bounced as it tried to dodge, but in the next instant, Lu Yin vanished and reappeared behind the spider. The iron rod chopped downward, directly cleaving the spider in half. From its belly spilled out the undigested body of Kang Dafeng.
The scene was disgusting. Lu Yin frowned and turned to leave.
Back at the convoy, Lu Yin instructed Xu San to announce that no one was allowed to leave the convoy without permission. Anyone who disobeyed would be expelled from the Execution Camp.
"Kang Dafeng... really died?" Luo Yun was shocked.
Lu Yin replied calmly, "You can go check the building. His body hasn't been digested yet—you can still recognize him."
Luo Yun's face turned pale. A dignified battalion commander died just like that—without a sound. If Lu Yin hadn't acted, Kang Dafeng would've been fully digested by that spider. This was the cruelty of the apocalypse. Even a battalion commander couldn't guarantee his own survival.
Xu San's face also turned pale. He immediately climbed into the armored vehicle, deciding he wouldn't leave Lu Yin's side even if he died.
Luo Yun also boarded Lu Yin's vehicle and had no intention of leaving.
Lu Yin was speechless. "As long as you stay with the convoy, it'll be fine."
Luo Yun rolled her eyes at Lu Yin. "Easy for you to say. Who knows what other mutated creatures are out there? It's safer staying close to you."
Lu Yin ignored her and ordered the convoy to continue moving.
"Boss, should we report this to Jinling? After all, the death of a battalion commander isn't a small matter," Xu San asked.
Lu Yin replied indifferently, "No rush. We'll wait until we reach the front line—assuming we make it there alive."
That statement made Xu San's face turn even whiter.
Luo Yun licked her lips and subconsciously moved closer to Lu Yin.
"It can't be that bad, right? We should be able to make it to the front line safely," Xu San tried to comfort himself.
Lu Yin looked out the window as the convoy moved slowly forward.
"But now that I think about it, Kang Dafeng was really unlucky. He chased those zombies all the way into that building—otherwise, he wouldn't have died," Xu San murmured. He felt that talking more made him feel safer.
He spoke carelessly, but the words struck a nerve. Lu Yin's head suddenly snapped up. "What did you say? Say that again."
Xu San was startled. "I said Kang Dafeng was really unlucky. He chased those zombies into that building—otherwise, he wouldn't have died."
Lu Yin's eyes gleamed. Chased? Zombies? Building? No, something didn't add up. Zombies had no consciousness, but they did have instincts—they avoided danger. That mutated spider was clearly extremely dangerous. Zombies shouldn't have approached it—yet they ran into that building. Why?
After over six months in the apocalypse, Lu Yin had experienced countless dangers. He understood zombies well. Even if they feared Kang Dafeng, they wouldn't run toward something even more dangerous.