"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Kris had just stood up when the muffled pounding came from the door.

It was accompanied by the zombies' hoarse growls, sounding especially loud in the quiet hardware store.

He automaticly held his breath and pressed his body against the cold wall. His grip on the iron rod was so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"Groan... groan..."

The zombies' growls were getting closer, as if they were right next to his ear.

Sweat formed on Kris's forehead, sliding down his cheek and coming to rest on the cold floor below. He felt like his entire back had been soaked by cold sweat, making him feel sticky and uncomfortable.

Damn it, why won't these beasts just leave like they can't be beaten?!

Kris cursed under his breath, while also praying for the zombies to leave.

The pounding lasted for a few minutes, then gradually faded away until it finally disappeared.

The zombie growls also slowly receded until they vanished completely.

Kris still didn't dare to relax.

He stayed in the same position for several more minutes, making sure there really was no movement outside, before he finally let out a slow breath of relief.

He felt his legs were a bit numb.

After moving them a little, he slowly recovered feeling.

"Phew... we're safe..."

Kris let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and continued searching for the hidden basic supply chest in the hardware store.

He forced himself to stay alert, looking carefully around.

The shelves were packed with all kinds of tools - wrenches, pliers, hammers, screwdrivers... a dazzling array of everything one could need.

As he searched, Kris mentally noted which items might be useful.

This wrench looks good. It can be used for screws, might come in handy later.

This hammer seems decent too. Could be a fairly good self-defense tool in a pinch.

Kris, muttering to himself, picked out some tools he thought might be useful and placed them on a nearby table.

The hardware store wasn't very large, and Kris quickly searched through it once but didn't find any trace of the treasure chest.

Strange, where could the chest be?

Kris frowned, feeling puzzled.

He stood still, looking around, trying to find some clues.

At that moment, his eyes focused on a corner of the hardware store.

That corner was piled with some junk that looked like it hadn't been touched for ages, covered in a thick layer of dust.

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Kris quickly walked over, cleared away the junk, and started a careful search.

As expected, he found a wooden box hidden deep inside the pile of junk. The box wasn't large and looked quite ordinary, with no lock on it.

Aha! There it is! Kris thought.

A message appeared before his eyes: [An Unlocked Basic Supply Chest]

Kris carefully pulled the box out and set it on the ground, then gently opened the lid.

Inside the box lay three items: a fire axe, a test tube-shaped container of medicine, and a full bottle of purified water.

The axe's blade glinted with a cold light—clearly very sharp.

The test tube held a pale blue liquid that shimmered faintly in the sunlight.

The purified water was ample—500 mL.

This must be one of the most important resources early on, Kris mused.

He picked up the fire axe and hefted it.

It's surprisingly heavy. I'd tire out after a few swings.

He felt somewhat helpless about that.

Next, he grabbed the test tube and examined it closely. There were no labels or markings, so he had no idea what it contained.

Just then, the System's announcement sounded again:

"All players, please note: The System has activated the Space Ring feature. Each player now has a space ring on one of their fingers, which can be used to store items. The initial storage space is one cubic meter, and can be upgraded later by using energy."

"A space ring?" Kris paused, then looked down at his fingers.

Sure enough, on his right ring finger, he found a silver ring. The ring's design was simple, with no intricate patterns or decorations.

Kris focused his thoughts on the ring, and suddenly, a virtual interface appeared before his eyes.

It showed a three-dimensional space, exactly one cubic meter in size.

"This... this is incredible!"

He tried to put the fire axe into the space ring, and the axe instantly disappeared, reappearing on the screen inside the ring.

Then, he tried to get the axe back, and it instantly reappeared in his hand.

"Wow, this is amazing! This will make things so much easier!"

He quickly stored both the iron rod, fire axe, and that bottle of pure water into the space ring, then focused on the mysterious potion.

"Show me information about this potion," Kris thought to himself.

Beginner's Strength Potion

After use, you can improve your strength attribute by 5 points, reaching the peak level for ordinary people.

"Improve my strength by 5 points? Reaching the peak for ordinary people?"

Kris's eyes immediately widened—this was something really good!

He opened his own attribute panel, which showed his current strength attribute was only 5 points, just average for ordinary people.

If he took this potion, his strength attribute would reach 10 points. That's double his original power!

"Use it! Right now!" Kris made up his mind instantly.

He picked up the Beginner's Strength Potion and was about to put it near his arm when the system popped up with a message:

"Are you sure you want to use the Beginner's Strength Potion?"

"Yes!"

The very next second, the potion turned into a blue light and quickly entered Kris's bloodstream.

"Ouch!"

A sudden, intense pain shot through Kris's arm and quickly spread to his whole body.

It felt like his muscles and bones were being ripped apart and reformed. The pain was almost unbearable.

He tightly covered his mouth with his hands, curled up into a ball, and rolled on the ground over and over.

Pain! Too much pain...

Kris gritted his teeth, forcing through the agony, and did his best not to scream too loud so as not to attract zombies.

His body kept twitching, and sweat dripped like rain. Soon, a pool of water formed on the ground.

Time passed slowly.

To Kris, it felt like he had been through a tour of hell.

After what seemed like an eternity, the excruciating pain finally began to subside.

Half an hour later, the agony had completely vanished.

Drenched in sweat, Kris lay on the ground, feeling like he had just been fished out of water.

Gasping for air, he struggled to his feet.

With the pain gone, his body felt lighter. He clenched his fists, feeling the immense strength surging through his muscles, and his heart swelled with joy.

Kris couldn't wait to open his attributes panel to see how he had changed.

Strength: 10 (Peak for ordinary person)

Agility: 6 (Ordinary person)

Intelligence: 6 (Ordinary person)

Spirit: 7 (Ordinary person)

"Looks like my strength attribute went up by 5 points!"

He quickly took out the fire axe from the space ring, which he had put away earlier.

With a gentle swing, the blade whistled through the air.

"What a difference!" To his surprise, the fire axe, once heavy and cumbersome, now felt almost weightless in his hands.

"This potion really works!"