006, Talent Awakening! SSS-Level Talent!

Thinking of those ingrates from her past life, Qi Ran felt a surge of strength erupting through her exhausted body as she arrived at the underground garage and began slaughtering the zombies. This renewed energy propelled her forward, driving her to continue the carnage.

Qi Sheng was still waiting for her at the shopping mall. During her brief respites earlier, Qi Ran had repeatedly messaged the terrified Qi Sheng, playing the role of a source of strength, offering patient comfort, and spinning elaborate lies to keep him hiding in a utility room on the seventh floor. She had to make it there to "protect" him—if only to ensure he didn't manage to kill enough zombies to trigger his own talent awakening.

It is often said that when people are pushed to the brink, their minds race with sudden, brilliant insights, allowing them to tap into unexpected potential. Just like that, in a flash of inspiration, Qi Ran suddenly recalled something: Phoenix Garden, a high-end residential complex spanning over a thousand square meters, was surrounded by several supermarkets. One large supermarket was located less than fifty meters from the complex entrance.

Although her adoptive parents were cold toward her, they hadn't forced her to handle domestic chores like grocery shopping; as image-conscious entrepreneurs, they were far too concerned with appearances. That was the only reason they had chosen to adopt her all those years ago, despite the clear reluctance and heartache it had caused them. In the past, Qi Ran rarely had the chance to visit the supermarket, as a nanny took care of all household supplies. Consequently, immediately after her rebirth, the existence of the supermarket had slipped her mind. Now, the anxiety acting like a gust of wind blowing away the dust in the corners of her memory, the recollection surfaced.

Deciding to act immediately, Qi Ran finished off the five zombies surrounding her car and drove straight toward the supermarket at the entrance of the complex.

Three minutes later, she arrived. The large supermarket spanned three floors and was usually bustling with high foot traffic, boasting fifty checkout counters. Now, however, it looked desolate. Without hesitation, Qi Ran walked inside, a kitchen knife in her left hand and a baseball bat in her right.

During the first three days of the apocalypse, zombies were essentially single-celled organisms with almost no intelligence, driven solely by a hunger for raw meat. The mutated zombies wouldn't linger long in the supermarket; beyond the unmutated humans they hunted when the apocalypse first struck, their food source was the raw meat sold in the aisles. She didn't know how long that would last, so she had to be quick.

As soon as she entered, the floor was splattered with the blood-red paint that had become all too familiar. The overpowering stench of blood transported Qi Ran back to the ten years of grueling survival in the apocalypse. Her mind instantly became sharper and colder.

Not far away, a few zombies were gorging themselves on raw meat. Gripping her weapons tightly, Qi Ran moved with silent, cat-like steps. Before the creatures could react, she slipped behind them, raising the kitchen knife in her left hand and the baseball bat in her right. In an instant, two headless zombies collapsed into a heap of unrecognizable gore. There had been three of them feeding together; after she dispatched the first two, the remaining one posed no threat at all. With a swift, clean strike, Qi Ran severed its head as well.

The store was about a hundred square meters. Qi Ran moved rapidly, decapitating every zombie she encountered without a second thought. Five minutes later, she had circled the entire floor. Since the start of the apocalypse, she had finally reached the threshold of two hundred kills.

"The two-hundredth..."

Gritting her teeth as she struck down the two-hundredth zombie, Qi Ran heard a fervent electronic voice resonate within her mind, just as promised:

[Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!]
[Detection: The first challenger on Blue Planet to slay 200 mutated species has appeared!]
[Congratulations to challenger Qi Ran for slaying 200 mutated species within three hours of the apocalypse's onset!]
[Reward: One opportunity for talent awakening!]
[Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!]
[Talent awakening ceremony initiated!]
[Talent awakening will be completed in ten seconds!]
[Ten-second countdown begins!]
[Ten!]
[Nine!]
[Eight!]
...
[One!]
[Congratulations to challenger Qi Ran for awakening the SSS-rank talent—Her Ladyship Arrives!]

[Talent Description: Her Ladyship Arrives!]
[Skill 1: Contract! (Passive)]
[Physical Cost: 0!]
[Description: How can a lady be without loyal servants? Within a hundred-mile radius of Her Ladyship, the strongest biological entity will be forcibly bound as her servant! The servant will be fiercely loyal to Her Ladyship! Her Ladyship holds control over the servant's life and death! With just a single thought, she can command the servant to perish instantly!]

[Skill 2: Extract!]
[Physical Cost: 100!]
[Description: When a loyal servant comes across something good, they naturally think of Her Ladyship first! Her Ladyship may extract any talent, skill, constitution, or attribute from the servant!]

[Skill 3: Bestow!]
[Physical Cost: 100!]
[Description: Her Ladyship is benevolent and should not solely exploit her loyal servants! After using Skill 2, one must use Skill 3! Her Ladyship may bestow talents, skills, constitutions, or attributes upon her loyal servants!]

[Skill 4: Unspeakable! (Passive)]
[Physical Cost: 0!]
[Description: Her Ladyship’s status is noble! Mere contracted servants, no matter how loyal, are unworthy of knowing Her Ladyship’s true identity!]

Wow!

Qi Ran blinked hard, a look of intense disbelief flashing in her eyes. Her awakened talent in this life was actually... SSS-rank! And it was so heaven-defying!

Combining [Skill 1: Contract] with [Skill 4: Unspeakable] meant that the strongest entity within a hundred-mile radius would be forcibly bound to her, and the target would never even know who had contracted them!

Using [Skill 2: Extract] in conjunction with [Skill 3: Bestow] meant that Qi Ran could strip a servant of every useful talent, skill, constitution, or attribute during the contract period, while dumping her own subpar talents, skills, or even negative effects onto the servant!

Since her rebirth, Qi Ran had been fueled by a deep, burning hatred. She had been racing against time, slaying zombies, desperate to become stronger. Even after two hours, the reality of her rebirth hadn't fully sunk in. But now, struck by such an incredible SSS-rank talent, the sheer surprise left even the calm and rational Qi Ran questioning if this rebirth was merely a hallucination before death. After all, an SSS-rank talent was unheard of, something never seen before on the Blue Planet in her previous life.