The mysterious scene before him left Zhou Zheng stunned.

"Digitization?"

This was the only explanation that could account for what he was witnessing.

Zhou Zheng noticed an issue: the initial attributes of his rogue character seemed only slightly weaker than those of a Second-Stage Martial Artist. This discovery meant that after embodying the character, Zhou Zheng's strength wasn't as weak as he had imagined.

Zhou An and Lan Xi's attributes were just these, without any additional attributes like attack.

It should be said that their displayed attributes were somewhat different from Zhou Zheng's.

"How could this be?"

Zhou Zheng furrowed his brows. The events that had occurred in such a short time were beyond explanation.

Standing up from the dining table, Zhou Zheng walked outside. He needed to figure something out.

"Young master, are you going out?"

The tone lacked much respect. After all, Zhou Zheng's reputation as a good-for-nothing didn't earn him respect. Apart from being the leader's son, no one would pay him any mind. Apprentice Martial Artists were numerous in the Siege City, only slightly stronger than ordinary people.

The world was filled with a large amount of Star Power. Ordinary people, after absorbing it, gained weak Star Power and became Apprentice Martial Artists.

To advance from Apprentice Martial Artist, one had to train diligently and break through to become a First-Stage Martial Artist to truly be considered a martial artist and earn respect. True powerhouses needed to continuously climb to higher realms and master more powerful combat skills.

The speaker was Zhou An, one of the two guards Zhou Hongqiang had assigned to Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng acknowledged with a "hmm" and continued walking outside.

Lan Xi and Zhou An exchanged a glance but said nothing, following closely behind Zhou Zheng. Their orders were to ensure Zhou Zheng's safety.

Though familiar with the Siege City from memory, walking through it always gave a strange sense of unfamiliar familiarity.

Zhou Zheng paid no attention to Lan Xi and Zhou An following him but instead looked with interest at the buildings here. The entire Siege City was divided into three areas: the residential zone, the training zone, and the commercial zone. The residential zone, naturally, was where the populace lived; the training zone had several fields for martial artists to practice and train; the commercial zone was essentially a hodgepodge, more like a marketplace, mainly providing a place for trade and barter.

Leaving the courtyard and walking down a few dozen meters, Zhou Zheng reached the residential zone of the Siege City.

The Siege City housed 30,000 to 40,000 people, making it a fairly sizable new city.

A variety of buildings were haphazardly constructed together, not unlike the slums in some modern cities. Women, in the apocalypse, were still in a disadvantaged position, primarily responsible for farming, and in their spare time, they would sit in front of their homes, doing some sewing and mending.

In the two years since the apocalypse, the world had been turned upside down, filled with unpredictable dangers everywhere.

In such circumstances, obtaining resources from former cities, towns, and villages was no simple task.

Many people's clothes were patched and worn repeatedly. These trivial supplies weren't worth the risk of venturing into zombie-infested cities to find. Mutated zombies were not only numerous but also possessed extraordinary strength.

Zhou Zheng tried to lock his gaze on one of the women.

[Wu Lili]

[Strength: 9]

[Constitution: 13]

[Skeletal Structure: 8]

[Agility: 12]

Above the woman's head was a health bar, but it didn't show how much health she had.

The displayed data was even simpler than Zhou An's, lacking a level column.

Zhou Zheng stared blankly at her: "Is this the data of an ordinary person?"

If Zhou Zheng's data was considered trash, then the data of ordinary people was even more so. The data of a Second-Stage Martial Artist was nearly ten times that of an ordinary person. Such an increase in strength wasn't as simple as 1+1=2; it was greater than 2.

In terms of pure strength, a Second-Stage Martial Artist could easily take on dozens of people.

Once martial artists harnessed Star Power, their combat power became even more astounding, far beyond what data could calculate.

But undeniably, having data allowed Zhou Zheng to have a more intuitive understanding of a person's combat power.

He tried a few more women, and their data was similar, with nothing outstanding.

Overall, the attributes of ordinary people, under normal circumstances, were four attributes at 10, with some fluctuation around 10. Below 10 indicated that the attribute was weaker than the normal level of ordinary people. Above 10 meant that the attribute was slightly better than others.

There was nothing in the residential zone that caught Zhou Zheng's attention.

Walking under the sunlight, Zhou Zheng felt a bit lazy.

Beyond the residential zone was the training zone, where loud shouts could be heard.

"Attention, the correct chopping posture, aim for effectiveness with one strike. Everyone, take it seriously. The Toxic Corpses won't hesitate because of your cowardice. If you don't want to die, practice more." A deep voice shouted, followed by a group of people responding with shouts.

Toxic Corpses were actually zombies, but people here preferred to call them Toxic Corpses.

Zombies carried a virus, and those infected had no choice but to die or become new zombies.

From a distance, on the reddish-brown rocky field, hundreds of young people were lined up in dozens of rows, holding a wooden sword about 1 meter long, practicing the chopping motion. The powerful swings produced bursts of air-breaking sounds, forming a whistling noise.

The instructor, Zhou Zheng knew, was Wei Chicheng, a trusted aide under his father.

Wei Chicheng was tall and strong, his arms as hard as steel when exerted.

At this moment, Wei Chicheng swung the wooden sword with such force that it produced a faint sonic boom, creating a white line. A seemingly simple strike, yet achieving such power, wasn't something just anyone could do.

Zhou Zheng locked his gaze on Wei Chicheng:

[Wei Chicheng]

Explore the extended edition on pawread.com.

[Level: ??]

[Strength: ??]

[Constitution: ??]

[Skeletal Structure: ??]

[Agility: ??]

Zhou Zheng shook his head in disappointment. Wei Chicheng was said to be at the Fourth-Stage Martial Artist level, far beyond his own, making it impossible to detect his attributes.

Martial artists had keen senses, and Zhou Zheng's gaze quickly caught Wei Chicheng's attention.

Seeing it was Zhou Zheng, Wei Chicheng said nothing, continuing to lead the people behind him in practicing the chopping technique. Zhou Zheng tried a few times, and most of the hundreds training here were Apprentice Martial Artists, with only a dozen or so being First-Stage Martial Artists.

Gunshots from afar caught Zhou Zheng's attention.

On another field, firearms training was taking place.

Not everyone could absorb the Star Power that permeated the world. The emergence of martial artists hadn't diminished the role of firearms in this apocalypse. Some ordinary people, Apprentice Martial Artists, and First or Second-Stage Martial Artists chose firearms as their means of attack.

A heavy sniper rifle could pose a threat to martial artists below the Fifth Stage. If hit, even a Fifth-Stage Martial Artist couldn't withstand it and would be shattered. The difference was that Fifth-Stage Martial Artists had speed, reflexes, and danger awareness that made them hard to hit.

Against Toxic Corpses and Mutant Beasts, firearms had a significant advantage.

Of course, the prospects of martial artists were clear. Everyone knew that the further a martial artist advanced, the more formidable they became, eventually being able to disregard firearms. Therefore, martial artists primarily focused on practicing martial skills, with firearms as a supplement.

The firearms training range was mainly filled with ordinary people, with Apprentice Martial Artists being quite common.

Seeing Zhou Zheng appear, everyone on the training range looked at him, each with a smile on their face. Unfortunately, Zhou Zheng couldn't see any welcoming expressions, only mockery and disdain.

"Young Master Zhou, want to practice shooting? It's okay if you can't become a martial artist. An outstanding sharpshooter will still earn respect."

A voice filled with sarcasm rang out, followed by a burst of laughter.

Zhou Zheng's face turned red. There were only a handful of people in the Siege City who could mock him so openly. In his memory, the young leader of the firearms training range was none other than Yan Boxun, the son of Chief Steward Yan Chuan.

With the strength of a Second-Stage Martial Artist and the skills of a sharpshooter, Yan Boxun was enveloped in an aura of genius.

---

Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan