"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dense sound of Inner Qi explosions echoed through the streets as Su Yan activated his Combat Lore, stepping with Qiankun Footwork, weaving like a dragon through the horde of hundreds of zombies.

His fists and palms moved in a deadly dance, Inner Qi bursting forth with each strike, felling the zombies like wheat before the wind.

In just a moment, the street was littered with over a hundred headless zombies, the stench rising to the sky.

Crimson light threads merged into Blood Coins, replenishing the resources Su Yan had spent on gacha earlier.

At this moment, it was the fifth hour since the Endless Road had swept across humanity.

The sky remained dim, though it was already noon.

"Even in death, these abominations are so detestable."

Su Yan glanced disdainfully at the zombie bodies strewn across the street. Using Inner Qi, he grabbed a bent steel rod from the roadside, using it to nudge aside the zombie limbs.

But as the rod touched the zombie remains, a message popped up before him.

[Detected slain creature: Tier 1 zombie.]

[There is still available "Blank Combat Lore" in the user's Equipment-type Card.]

[Would you like to absorb the "Tier 1 zombie" to fill in Combat Lore?]

[This knowledge is temporarily assessed as: Basic-tier (N) - Combat Lore.]

"Ridiculous!"

Su Yan was furious: "How could someone of my stature use the bodies of these abominations?"

What is an N Card worth?

The lowest level of Combat Lore, isn't this a waste of space in my Legendary Card?

Su Yan decisively refused, but he also realized: he needed to touch each slain creature to receive the prompt about absorption.

This meant that as long as there were enough and strong enough monsters, the selection range for this Legendary Card would be vast.

"What if I killed others?"

"Teaming up with other users, then killing them..."

"...would I be able to absorb them into Combat Lore, inheriting some of their abilities?"

As soon as this thought crossed Su Yan's mind, he snorted coldly: "Impossible! I have lived an honorable life, how could I become a murderer?"

"Practicing martial arts is for strengthening the body, not for abandoning martial virtues, nor for destroying one's reputation out of greed."

Su Yan almost reflexively rejected this option, but he quickly realized: Damn it, Combat Lore can indeed influence my instant decisions.

This Combat Lore is strong, but it's too righteous.

While clearing the path ahead, Su Yan glanced at his remaining Inner Qi, which was over 200 points.

"Alright, the old man should rest."

Su Yan ended the card effect, his long black hair reverting to short, his pride and sense of justice fading away.

Since discovering his personal data interface, Su Yan had become more precise in managing his Inner Qi reserves, and he had roughly figured out the frequency of Combat Lore restoring Inner Qi and other special energies.

In a non-active state, about 70% of Inner Qi could be restored in an hour.

In an active state, even without fighting, only about 10% could be restored in an hour.

If conditions allowed, ending the card's recovery effect was naturally the best choice.

As for whether unexpected situations would arise when not loading Combat Lore... Su Yan wasn't worried about these, because he had already noticed several servants quickly approaching from afar.

Leading them was a tall, slender girl in black with glasses, the librarian [Jing].

Su Yan had recently ordered her to lead the others in searching along the way, using the abilities of three R Cards to scout for dangers and gather supplies from buildings.

This saved Su Yan most of his energy, and with the strength of these cards grouped together, they weren't too afraid of a small number of zombies.

"Master, we found these supplies."

Jing led the team to him, her voice gentle as she turned to show and introduce the supplies they had gathered to Su Yan.

"We currently have 38 portions of food, 12 bottles of water, and various tools, ropes, knives, and handmade bandages that might be useful in the wild."

As Jing introduced the items, Su Yan's gaze swept over what everyone held.

Each person had found a backpack or bag to carry items, filled with various usable supplies.

Red, yellow, green, the packaging was eye-catching, the dust wiped away... all the food and drink had been identified by the cook Ah Fu as safe to consume.

But unfortunately, it was still too little.

If it were just Su Yan, these supplies could last a long time, but the bad news was... the servants also had dietary needs.

This was information Su Yan had gathered after communicating with the servants: Servant Cards could summon 100% loyal servants, but they were not fictional data; they were living people.

Being human, they had the same needs for eating, drinking, sleeping, and defecating as Su Yan.

They would also get hungry, thirsty, and could die from injuries.

Through Su Yan's tests, even if they were turned into card form, their various needs wouldn't disappear; hunger and thirst would only slow to about half the normal rate.

Even in card form, if left unchecked, they could starve or die of thirst, and untreated injuries could lead to death.

The death of a servant meant the permanent loss of that Servant Card.

Honestly, the pros and cons of Servant Cards were extremely apparent, even extremely polarized.

If Su Yan had known this earlier, he would never have summoned so many servants.

While having many servants brought numerous benefits, the gap in resource consumption grew accordingly.

The random scattered supplies on the street at the start were clearly barely enough for one user, not enough to support a team.

Of course, there was a better solution: make the most of what you have.

After all, they were just N Cards and R Cards; these Servant Cards weren't highly valuable. Use them to the point of injury, hunger, and then just send them to die as cannon fodder.

The remaining servants wouldn't lose loyalty because of this; their loyalty was always fixed at 100 points, no matter how the user treated them.

Just like fodder cards in games, a simple click, and they became "food" and "fuel" for upgrading higher-level cards, without any complaints.

But this idea only existed in Su Yan's mind; his actual actions didn't follow this path.

After all, these Servant Cards weren't really "fodder cards"; they were living people who could laugh, talk, and act, with rich expressions, respecting and obeying Su Yan.

Deliberately letting a group of living people die before your eyes, letting a group of completely loyal subordinates die on purpose... it didn't quite align with the simple values of the Chinese people.

Killing for self-preservation was one thing, but committing evil on purpose was unnecessary.

People shouldn't be like web novel protagonists, selfish and evil while thinking themselves righteous.

Su Yan also wanted to be like a tyrant, killing without blinking, but honestly, he couldn't do it yet.

"Maybe in the future, I'll become cold-blooded, but not now."

Su Yan silently thought, glancing at the items in everyone's hands, suddenly smiling: "Looks like we'll have to ration our food for the next few days."

"Master, we can go without eating."

Jing adjusted her glasses, her tone calm and obedient: "If we maintain our current efficiency in gathering supplies, we will need to eliminate 1-2 companions within 10 days."

"Only this way can we ensure the remaining supplies allow the master to survive, and the rest should conserve more food."

"For the elimination list, I suggest starting with those with the lowest contribution and value."

Jing's gentle voice echoed in the empty street, shocking Su Yan into silence.

He walked forward slowly, silently observing his servants.

No one showed any unusual expressions; it seemed they had already accepted this fate, knowing their roles and value.

"You... have no empathy?"

Su Yan looked at Jing suspiciously, and Jing smiled gently, her response still calm: "I do, but I can't let it harm you."

"Throughout history, survival has always been a cruel affair, in any era."

"If you die, we have no reason to live either."

"Maximizing everyone's value ensures the master can reach the end; this is our relay."

Jing's words were persuasive, and Su Yan couldn't help but agree.

But as humans, there's always a rebellious streak; not everyone agrees with the "right" voice.

Because some things shouldn't be judged by whether they're "right."

"Let's talk about it later."

Su Yan didn't want to answer this question, turning to continue forward.

His mood was a bit complicated.

In the moments he listened to Jing's response, Su Yan suddenly understood something.

The survival and trials of the Endless Road weren't just about the monsters on the surface, nor the threats of stopping and dying.

Many dangerous trials were hidden in the details, forcing users to endure inner torment and make one crazy decision after another.

If you abandon everything that makes you human to survive, is it worth it?

Well, maybe it is, since survival is the instinct of all living things.

But... would you still be human then?

Su Yan knew he didn't need to think about such distant issues.

Perhaps at some dangerous moment, these low-level servants would "naturally" and "rightfully" die in battle, in a situation where he was powerless to save them.

This way, more space and positions could be freed for potentially higher-level servants in the future.

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Perhaps this was the best outcome?

Su Yan didn't know; he couldn't answer.

This wasn't the internet, a game, or a forum where he could boast and claim "I would be cold-blooded."

This was reality, a moment to truly make decisions about the future survival of his people.

The empty street, the stench, a group walking in silence.

None of this could hide the small thorn and worry in Su Yan's heart.

Until.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!"

From the end of the street, streaks of blood-red light rushed over, merging into Su Yan's Blood Coins, causing them to grow continuously.

"Hmm?"

Su Yan was startled awake, looking up.

He knew who it was, Natasha, the Rare-grade servant.

Su Yan had sent her ahead for reconnaissance earlier; she was only slightly inferior to the Combat Lore - Martial Arts Master, and the Zombie Tide posed no threat to her.

As Su Yan had predicted, the zombie horde ahead couldn't threaten Natasha; instead, she was clearing the dangers ahead, continuously harvesting Blood Coins for Su Yan.

"You see, sometimes people worry too much."

Su Yan raised his hand, pointing ahead, smiling at Jing: "The answer is simple, a strong servant can support more people. I don't look down on low-level servants... everyone can play their unique role in specific fields."

"I believe there's no concept of 'fodder cards' in the Endless Road, so each servant has their crucial use."

"For example, in my eyes, even though you're just an N Card, at least your brain is more useful than mine, right?"

Su Yan chuckled, teasingly pointing at his head.

Jing, who had been walking with her head down, looked up at Su Yan, her lips curling slightly into a smile: "I hope so, Master."

"But masters like you, who care about the life and death of servants, are rare in the Endless Road."

"Oh, I understand."

Su Yan shrugged: "It's not good, too much empathy, but what can I do, I'm just that awesome."

Jing was taken aback, her smile growing wider.