I STACK ATTRIBUTES IN THE APOCALYPSE -MyOwnEdit-

In Cheng County, under the veil of the night sky, Duan Mei gasped for air, her lungs burning with exhaustion. A faint metallic tang of blood tinged the air around her.

From noon until now, well past midnight, Duan Mei, Bai Tianyu, and the others had been desperately evading the relentless pursuit of The Flesh Mountain.

Their escape was far from smooth. The Flesh Mountain might have lacked agility, but its immense size translated into a formidable speed advantage, making it difficult for the group to outpace the monstrous zombie. With each stride, its long legs covered over 20 meters, showcasing its frightening pace.

Fortunately, the ever-present six-legged wolf-bears, wary of The Flesh Mountain changing its focus, refrained from attacking Duan Mei's group.

Unfortunately, this chase had persisted for hours. Duan Mei was famished, parched, and utterly spent. Human stamina had its limits, and the power of an Awakened's superpower was finite.

Duan Mei's wind-based abilities had been instrumental in their escape, but prolonged use had drained her Awakened power. At this point, their survival hinged solely on sheer willpower.

Meanwhile, the zombies possessed no willpower, but their determination could be considered limitless. Once they locked onto a target, their sole objective was to either kill or be killed, leaving no room for hesitation or retreat.

Therefore, this chase had never been fair from the outset.

At some point, as Duan Mei narrowly evaded another earth-shattering blow from The Flesh Mountain, despair washed over her.

She glanced back at the relentless monster, a deep sigh escaping her lips. She relinquished all resistance.

Alright, she thought, I've survived in this post-apocalyptic world for this long, and I have no regrets.

I just hope Lolita is safe now...

In her final moments, Duan Mei's thoughts drifted to the little girl she had encountered at the start of the apocalypse. A heartfelt wish resonated within her, "I hope you can find your mother."

With this silent prayer, Duan Mei closed her eyes, prepared to face her fate at the hands of The Flesh Mountain.

Suddenly, a glint of cold steel caught her eye, descending from the sky and striking the monstrous zombie's head.

In another building within Cheng County, Bai Tianyu and several members of his team huddled in a corner, their faces etched with exhaustion and pain. Both of Bai Tianyu's arms were fractured, a testament to the brutal encounter with The Flesh Mountain.

As Duan Mei faced The Flesh Mountain once more, a thunderous noise drew everyone's attention to the window.

They witnessed Duan Mei dodging left and right, her movements noticeably slower than before, her energy waning. The Flesh Mountain pursued relentlessly, its eyes glowing with malice, its mouth dripping with repulsive slime.

The sight filled the room with a heavy silence.

Bai Tianyu turned, ready to rush to Duan Mei's aid, but his team members held him back.

"Captain, don't be impulsive!"

"Brother, don't go! Please!"

"Colonel Bai, there's nothing we can do..."

It wasn't that they didn't want to save Duan Mei; they simply couldn't. The Flesh Mountain was far too powerful.

Bai Tianyu's jaw tightened, a wave of guilt washing over him. He felt powerless and trapped.

Suddenly, a team member pointed towards the sky. "Colonel Bai! Look! It's Brother Lu!"

Bai Tianyu's head snapped up, his eyes widening in surprise. He rushed to the window and spotted a plane descending, with Lu Ming standing at the open doorway.

The weight in his heart lifted instantly. He knew that with Lu Ming's arrival, all problems would cease to be problems.

Unaware of Lu Ming's reputation, the other Awakened from Dragon Mountain looked on in confusion. But the sudden shift in the atmosphere, from despair to hope, was palpable.

As the plane descended, its shadow falling over The Flesh Mountain, the creature's attention shifted from the fleeing survivors to the new arrival. It let out a guttural roar, its eyes fixated on the aircraft.

Inside the building, an Awakened from Dragon Mountain, watching the scene unfold, grew excited. He muttered under his breath, "The Gatling Gun will definitely be able to take down this monster!"

The members of the official Black Mist Exploration Team exchanged incredulous looks. Bai Tianyu quickly countered, "The Gatling Gun won't be enough. It can pierce through the skin of The Flesh Mountain, but not its muscles and bones."

Firearms were powerful, but their effectiveness was limited against Level 5 creatures. Conventional weapons simply couldn't inflict enough damage.

A Dragon Mountain Awakened, momentarily stunned by this revelation, then suggested, "Specialized sniper rifles and specialized bullets?"

"Those won't work either," Bai Tianyu replied. "The Flesh Mountain is too massive. A single bullet can't take down something like that."

The Dragon Mountain Awakened felt his understanding of warfare challenged. He scratched his head in embarrassment, grasping for another possibility.

"Missiles? Oh, I see! The plane is used to locate targets for missile strikes!"

Bai Tianyu couldn't help but laugh. "Missiles don't work like that. Besides, using missiles would be overkill. It's a weapon of last resort. If we were to deploy missiles on The Flesh Mountain, the resulting destruction would engulf all of Cheng County."

While missiles offered precision, their devastating power was not suitable for this situation.

However, to obliterate a monster like The Flesh Mountain, a missile would require immense destructive power, easily affecting Bai Tianyu and the others, not to mention Duan Mei, who was still engaged in combat with the creature.

Furthermore, although The Flesh Mountain was enormous, it wasn't a stationary target like a power plant or a bridge. Even with pinpoint accuracy, a missile would struggle to hit a moving target like The Flesh Mountain.

After hearing Bai Tianyu's explanation, the Dragon Mountain Awakened was completely bewildered. He thought for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Then what did you mean by 'rescue'?"

A smile crept across Bai Tianyu's face as he watched Lu Ming descend from the sky, hurtling towards The Flesh Mountain.

"Our nuclear weapon," he said slowly, his voice filled with pride. "A nuclear weapon exclusive to us humans!"

Lu Ming continued his freefall, the battle saber clutched tightly in his hand. The wind roared past his ears, but his gaze remained locked onto The Flesh Mountain's bald head, a vast expanse that resembled a small island.

Where should I strike? he wondered.

The target was simply too large, making it difficult to pinpoint a lethal blow. After a brief moment ofconsideration, Lu Ming decided to aim for the creature's head.

However, there was one glaring issue—the length of the sword.

If it were the forty-meter-long behemoth from before, cleaving The Flesh Mountain in one fell swoop would be feasible. But with the current two-meter-long saber, Lu Ming doubted whether it could penetrate the creature's thick muscles and reach the bone.

It probably wouldn't work.

But what if...

A daring thought sparked in his mind, and Lu Ming's expression turned resolute.

"Maybe I really can," he murmured, a newfound determination filling him.

He slowly raised the battle saber until it was level with his shoulders. Fixing his gaze on the approaching Flesh Mountain, Lu Ming took a deep breath and unleashed a powerful roar.

"Slash!!"

With all his might, he swung the saber downwards.

In the next instant, a series of sonic booms erupted in rapid succession. Concentric shockwaves rippled from the edge of the blade, crashing against the crown of The Flesh Mountain's head like a raging storm.

The deafening sound resonated throughout Cheng County. In the silence that followed, The Flesh Mountain emitted a horrifying, agonizing wail.

The sudden change startled Duan Mei, who scrambled to her feet, using the last vestiges of her power to retreat to a safe distance.

Looking back at The Flesh Mountain, she saw its entire face had been sliced clean off, revealing shattered facial bones and the still-pulsating brain tissue beneath.

Another resounding boom echoed as a powerful figure landed gracefully beside Duan Mei.

Duan Mei stood on the left, Lu Ming on the right.

They exchanged glances, Lu Ming offering a hesitant smile, while Duan Mei's expression was a mixture of awe and bewilderment.