Day 34.

The heavy rains were becoming ever fiercer as the days went by. Green looked out the window; the world was shrouded in a thick layer of fog and precipitation.

The dark clouds looming in the sky bore an ominous, red hue, casting a terrifying shadow over the city of Xincheng. When he checked his watch, he couldn't believe it was already 8 am. The sun had yet to emerge, and there was little light visible outside.

Sensing the ominous and solemn air around, he closed the window with a heavy heart. His conviction grew stronger that the peculiar rain was somehow linked to the zombies' evolution.

Standing in the dark room, his mind replayed the encounter in the dreamscape. The secrets of the labyrinth, revealed by Zhanshen, were truely eye opening.

Green felt like he had finally begun to explore the mysteries of the labyrinth. While more questions remained unanswered, he gained a certain sense of clarity, no longer stumbling around in the darkness of ignorance.

Unfortunately, before Zhanshen could disclose more information, the dream world disintegrated and he opened his eyes to his apartment. Nonetheless, he wasn't too disappointed; he had a sense that he wouldn't be seeing the last of Zhanshen just yet.

Green walked to the kitchen, grabbed some food, and opened his status. Following his conversation with Zhanshen, he finally understood the experience requirements for leveling up.

Name: Green

Class: Warrior

Level: 6 (230 / 1,200)

HP: 122/125 (147/150)

Stamina: 150/150

Attack: 35

Defense: 85+40 (125)

Gold: 50

Items:

Abilities: Eldrathrin's Mark, Troll's Vitality

Skills: Rejuvenation

Equipment Shop

Battle Log

After claiming the reward from the [skeleton task], he had already progressed a fifth of the way toward the next level. Additionally, the newly acquired ability [Troll's Vitality] meant he could gradually restore his HP, allowing for more time in the dungeon hunting monsters rather than sneaking around and hiding.

Coupled with the additional health from [Eldrathrin's Mark] and the opportunity to regain up to 20 percent of his health every three days, Green felt confident that he would swiftly advance to level 7.

Green was also confident in confronting the zombies; the enhanced immunity from [Eldrathrin's Mark] should provide sufficient protection against the zombie virus.

The task of clearing out the undead would continue as usual; in fact, Green felt the need to speed up the elimination of zombies in the building.

Who knew if one of the zombies in the building would evolve into something akin to a level 25 orc?

The rain outside didn't cease for a moment, falling fiercely. However, when the sun eventually emerged and the red clouds dissipated, it was already 11 am.

The moment the sun emerged from behind the clouds, Green was prepared; equipped in all his items.

Wearing the bronze helmet on his head, a bronze round-shield on his left hand, black leather armor on his body, boots on his feet, and the short sword in hand, Green looked in the mirror and felt like an ancient warrior, ready to enter the battlefield.

Peering through the pinhole, he observed no movement of undead on the 10th floor. Exiting the house, he walked past the fallen zombie bodies on the ground, making his way to the lower floors.

During the rescue mission for Liu Mei, Green had already cleared the 9th and 8th floors. Now, his objective was to proceed further and eliminate the zombies on the 7th floor.

Before he could descend the stairs, a pair of vigilant eyes appeared to have been anticipating his arrival; he heard the sound of a door opening at the end of the corridor.

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"Lu Chen, wait a minute!" Zhang Guoling emerged, the retired policeman holding a wooden stick and a kitchen knife. On his back, a large empty black bag was slung.

Green examined Zhang Guoling's figure, uncertain, and walked over to listen.

"Going out to hunt zombies again?" Zhang Guoling inquired, his eyes glancing at the new items on Green's body.

(What's going on with this guy, a bronze helmet and a shield?)

Despite Zhang Guoling's curiosity about the peculiar items, he refrained from mentioning them, having more pressing matters to discuss.

"Lu Chen, I truly commend your commitment to eradicating the zombies. With them at our doorstep, we can never rest easy."

Looking at Green's blank face, Zhang Guoling continued.

"But the ancestors have said that four hands are often better than two; why don't I join you?"

"Of course, with my strength, I may not match the zombies, but I can still help in moving supplies." Zhang Guoling eagerly expressed his willingness to gather food and water.

In their previous risky outing, they had only managed to bring back a small amount of food. If he didn't go out now, they would probably starve soon.

After a brief discussion with the others, the responsibility of securing food and water from outside naturally fell upon Zhang Guoling, the sole adult male.

This decision also due to the other people's circumstances : Zhang Yuling had a sprained leg, Liu Mei remained in a weak state after her rescue, and both Zhang Guoling and his daughter rejected Zhang Jiahao's participation, despite his numerous protests.

Green stood in place, pondering for a moment before nodding in agreement with Zhang Guoling. He couldn't refuse this reasonable request; as a neighbor and fellow survivor, he was still willing to lend a hand during this challenging time.

Plus, Zhang Guoling had proven himself during the previous rescue mission. While he might not be relied upon for clearing the undead, he wasn't a liability either; Green felt confident in having him as a teammate. Also considering the assistance needed in moving supplies, he agreed to this partnership without hesitation.

"Alright, that's not a problem. But remember what I said before, just follow my lead, and dealing with the zombies won't be too difficult."

Zhang Guoling nodded in agreement immediately. Having personally witnessed this person effortlessly behead zombies, he knew that following such a strong individual's command would ensure another trouble-free journey, through the zombie infested building corridors. Most importantly, this 'delivery-man' didn't seem to be an unreasonable person.

The two were quick, navigating through the 7th floor quite easily. The number of zombies on this floor was not many; only seven in total.

Green didn't intend to waste time; he hurried out, kicking a female zombie down and swiftly decapitating it with a single swing of his sword.

A yellow-eyed zombie nearby leaped onto him; Green used his round shield to push it away. With another strike, the head flew up, and the body of the yellow-eyed zombie fell to the ground.

Green glanced at the approaching zombies and charged at them with ferocity.

The strength and speed of a level 6 were like a weight pressing on top of the low-level zombies; Green effortlessly severed the heads of the remaining zombies with just a few swift moves.

Zhang Guoling, on the side, was astonished; had this fellow become stronger?

His speed and ease of taking down zombies had definitely increased.

After eliminating the last zombie, Green took a deep breath and examined the body of the yellow-eyed zombie.

This undead should possess a strength similar to a level 3 monster; stronger than the red-eyed zombies and even more agile. Its rapid, erratic movements reminded him of zombies from a certain movie. Unfortunately for the zombie, it had the misfortune of encountering him today.

From the slain undead, Green found only three crystals; a yellow one and two white ones. After crushing the yellow crystal he turned to Zhang Guoling and handed him the remaining two crystals.

Although he had dealt with the zombies alone, Green didn't intend to keep all the zombie crystals for himself.

He wasn't too eager to monopolize the crystals at this moment; leveling up to the next rank required more than just one or two extra crystals. Moreover, Green was curious to see if Zhang Guoling would level up like him after obtaining the required experience; would a new change take place then?

Zhang Guoling initially intended to decline the white crystals, but swiftly, Green turned around, gesturing toward the stairs. The middle-aged man opened his mouth but closed it again, hesitating.

In the end, he clenched his fist, shattering the crystals. Becoming stronger was crucial at this moment, and he couldn't afford to be modest.

Excitement coursed through Zhang Guoling as warmth surged in his body. Suddenly, he remembered something and halted Green from going down the stairs.

"There's an open house here; let's check inside, maybe we can find supplies," Zhang Guoling motioned toward a house.

Green cautiously tapped at the door, but there was no movement inside. The two walked in, searching around; they found some food and bottled water in the fridge. Although the vegetables and fruits had gone bad, there was still plenty of edible food like instant noodles and some canned goods.

When they came out of the house, Zhang Guoling's backpack was already full; they had to return upstairs; offloading their gains in the Zhang family house.

There were also other houses that were open in the 7th floor; they worked hard, and after multiple trips, they finally emptied them out.

Green stared at the remaining houses, their doors shut; he didn't know if there were zombies or survivors inside.

He wasn't too eager to break in to find out either. For now, they would only gather supplies from houses that were left open.

Clearing the 7th floor, Green and Zhang Guoling descended to the 6th floor. Taking a peek from behind the wall, they saw many zombies on this floor; a total of 12.

Realizing he couldn't continue to blindly charge in, Green employed the luring method once again. At level 6, with his considerable strength and speed, combined with cautious tactics, he efficiently dispatched the zombies without much trouble.

With the assistance of Zhang Guoling, they pried open the zombie heads, obtaining 7 crystals; 2 yellow, 3 red, and 2 white. Green distributed them as usual and turned toward the open house on the side.

Zhang Guoling was about to follow along, but suddenly he was startled by a sound from a nearby apartment. The door of 605 was unlocked from inside, and peeking out were three dirty faces: two men and a woman.

The woman, appearing to be in her thirties, held a small child in her arms, fear evident in her eyes. One of the men stood in front of her, he held an iron bar in his hand and looked around cautiously.

The three survivors who had clearly heard the noise from outside, came out to investigate. When they saw other people outside, they were surprised and their eyes widened in shock.

Zhang Guoling was startled by the appearance of the survivors; he motioned for Green with a shaky finger. Green looked at the approaching people; he didn't know how they had managed to survive until now; it had already been more than a month.

The two men, also appearing to be in their thirties had a similar shaved head and round glasses, while the woman looked ordinary with short hair and a child in her arms.

The survivors looked at Green's peculiar attire, perplexed. Opening his mouth, the man with the iron bar wanted to say something, but suddenly, his speech was interrupted by loud shrieks.

In an instant, the light in the corridors of the 6th floor dimmed, and an eerie stillness gripped the air as a large pair of wings cast a foreboding shadow over the surroundings.

_________

Battle Log.

《 Exp gained +10 》

《 Exp gained +10 》

《 Exp gained +10 》

《 Exp gained +7 》

《 Exp gained +7 》