Apocalypse: Transmigrated with an Overlord System-Chapter 257: Overflow

The cold wind swept through the rooftop, but Liora didn’t feel it.

Her mind moved quickly, swiping open her system panel, ignoring everything else as the screen lit up before her eyes. The moment it opened, a storm of notifications flooded her view—bright flashes, one after another, each with glowing letters and chimes that bombarded her senses.

Ding!

x10 [You have successfully eliminated a Level 10 Evolved Zombie.]

x10 [Rewards Unlocked: +500 Stamina, +120 Experience Points (EXP), +378 Strength, +25 kg Rice]

Ding!

x4 [You have eliminated a Level 13 Rage Zombie.]

x4 [Rewards Unlocked: +800 Stamina, +240 EXP, +10 Bottles of Tomato Sauce, +80 kg Wheat Flour]

Ding!

x6 [You have eliminated a Level 9 Agile Zombie.]

x6 [Rewards Unlocked: +320 Strength, +90 EXP, and +5 Seed Packets: Red Chili and Medical Alcohol (x3)]

Ding!

x5 [You have eliminated a Level 12 Agile Zombie.]

x5 [Rewards Unlocked: +320 Intelligence, +90 EXP, and New Stock Added In Convenience Store: Dried Meat, Bread, and Canned Beans]

Ding!

[Seed Unlocked: Rice | Beans | Eggplants | Tomatoes | Spinach]

[Received: 10 packs each] 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Liora blinked rapidly.

The flood of messages didn’t stop. It felt endless—notification after notification stacking up until they blurred together.

She quickly mentally presses on the mute button on the panel, silencing the system’s voice. The flashing still continued, but at least the sound was gone. She exhaled slowly, trying to calm her racing heart.

There were so many rewards.

It wasn’t just experience and stat points. She was receiving goods—bags of rice, water, flour, medicine, and even farming seeds. Food stock was being directly sent to her base inventory, and rare items to her space.

Her eyes flicked through the items again.

"Convenience store..." she murmured under her breath. "Supply store items... unlocked..."

She had only heard of new item unlocking during large beast tides or government missions. But now, just by killing zombies—so many at once—she had triggered the same kind of drops. Her shadows had wiped out every kind of zombie, from Level 1 to Level 13.

And now, it was all paying off.

Even her base store had received a sudden update. Rows of new food items—simple but valuable—were now listed in the panel: instant noodles, cooking oil, milk powder, salt, coffee, canned soup, dry lentils, and much more.

Her mouth curled into a slow smile.

These things would help her people. Real food. Real seeds. Basic medicine. All the things she once struggled to find or bought were now coming to her in bulk.

It felt like a gift.

She leaned back a little, gazing at the gray sky, feeling a rare moment of satisfaction. Her army was still fighting in the streets far below, ripping apart undead bodies and sweeping the ruins clean. The city was slowly turning quiet.

And her level bar was climbing faster than she expected.

But suddenly her vision wobbled up, and she blinked to clear it.

The words on her panel blurred slightly. She rubbed her eyes, but the haze remained. Her fingers felt heavier. Her body was still, but her head began to tilt slightly to one side as if something was pulling her down.

Then she felt it.

A slow, warm trail sliding from her nostril.

She reached up with her fingertips... and when she pulled her hand back—

It was blood.

Dark red, thick, and frighteningly warm against her skin.

"Liora!" Xu Kai’s voice snapped sharply beside her.

He was already moving, his eyes fixed on her face, one hand grabbing her shoulder.

"Call them back. Now!"

Liora tried to shake her head, to say she was fine—but the words didn’t come out.

Her body swayed forward before he caught her.

"You’ve used too much power," he said firmly, his voice low but urgent. "You’ve kept them out too long. Your bond’s too strong now—it’s draining you."

She looked up at him, her eyes glassy, barely focusing.

It made sense. She had summoned almost a thousand shadows and sent them into a massive hunt, all at once. And even though she wasn’t fighting directly, the connection remained active—the link with every single shadow still alive and moving through the city.

It wasn’t just their power flowing out, but hers too.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She felt her blood growing sluggish, her breathing slightly ragged.

"Liora," Xu Kai said again, his hands tightening around her arms, grounding her. "You need to stop. Now."

She nodded weakly.

All Shadows—Return Immediately.

The command echoed not just from her lips but deep within the bond she shared with them.

Across the ruined city, the silent army obeyed.

They left behind collapsing buildings, abandoned vehicles, and alleys soaked with the scent of rot. Some crawled out of hollowed corpses; others leapt from rooftops where they had stood watch. They came in waves—melting into smoke, flowing like water, and retreating toward the single thread that had created them all.

Her shadow.

It pulsed beneath her boots, swallowing them one by one.

And then the pain eased.

Her breathing grew steadier. The cold in her fingertips faded. The bleeding slowed.

Xu Kai was still crouched in front of her, his brows furrowed in deep concern. His hand hovered near her shoulder, hesitant, as if afraid she’d fall apart the moment he touched her.

"Don’t overdo it," he murmured, voice low but firm.

Liora let out a shaky breath and gave him a weak smile. "I got carried away..."

"You think?" he muttered, trying to sound annoyed, but the tightness in his jaw had softened. The relief in his voice was unmistakable.

She leaned back against the metal bench behind her, willing her muscles to relax, her body still trembling from the drain. The constant dinging from the phone had stopped. The weight of thousands of kills, rewards, and material gains had dulled to silence.

But before she could even glance at her panel again —

The world tilted.

Her vision blurred, smeared with darkness at the edges.

Xu Kai straightened in alarm, stepping forward just in time to catch her.

"Liora—!"

She didn’t hear the rest.

Her knees gave out.

She collapsed into his arms like a broken marionette, the last of her strength gone. Her head lolled weakly against his chest, her face cold with sweat.

Xu Kai cradled her close, arms firm around her as he dropped to his knees. "Liora, hey—look at me—come on—"

But her eyes were already half-lidded, and his voice—

His voice sounded so far away.

She wanted to answer him. Wanted to say she was okay. That it was just a little overuse. That she just needed a minute.

But the light around her faded.