The shopping mall had five floors, from the lowest to the highest being the supermarket area, accessories area, clothing area, leisure area, and restaurant area.
This was originally the most densely populated place in the area, so when the zombie virus spread, everyone in the shopping mall was killed, either becoming a zombie or the nutrient that fuelled the zombies' evolution.
Benjamin entered the shopping mall and closed the only remaining entrance, completely isolating the building from the outside world.
Without an electricity supply, the building was pitch black. It was especially dark after the entrances were sealed.
Benjamin gathered the element of fire. He could see his fingertips tremble slightly as a flame slowly coalesced. The flame was small, flickering and emitting a weak light, but it was still good enough to be used as a candle for lighting.
"Looks like I need to upgrade [Mastery of Fire Element Basics] after returning."
Feeling the MP slowly draining from his body, Benjamin added [Mastery of Fire Element Basics] to the list of skills to upgrade.
Benjamin had tried to upgrade this basic passive skill in Reincarnation Space and received a system prompt that it would cost 500 Mystsu Currencies per level.
The high upgrade cost made Benjamin give up on upgrading this skill for the time being.
After all, he only needed the fire element for one [Magic Missile: Elemental Fusion], and the upgrade was not cost-effective.
But from the current situation, upgrading this skill is still quite useful.
"The main problem is still poverty!"
If there were enough Mystsu Currency, there would be no need to consider this and that. As an adult, of course, you want it all.
"Sigh, it's just fine to daydream about these things."
Benjamin pulled back from his overactive imagination and continued to cautiously explore the first floor of the shopping center, which also housed the supermarket.
The situation on this floor was chaotic. Shelves were overturned, goods were lying on the floor in disarray, and the floor and walls were stained with dark blood.
In some places, there were scratches and bite marks, which showed just how great a panic the zombie virus outbreak had caused at the time.
Benjamin picked up a tin of beef on the floor and shook it, then opened it to check whether it had expired.
"Luckily, it looks fine!"
The worst had not happened. If even the canned food had gone bad, it would have been difficult for the new contractor to last until the end of the required task in this dead city with almost no living creatures.
Even Benjamin had to worry about food after using up all his restorative items. After all, he had been suddenly drafted and was the kind of person who acted first and thought later. Where would he find the time to store food?
For Benjamin, the storage space is really pitiful. Only the recovery items and equipment props are qualified to be put into the storage space, and all the materials can only be left in the dedicated space to gather dust.
That being said, it is still because the level is too low, and being weak in the Reincarnation Space is a sin.
Having few skills, low attributes, poor equipment, insufficient storage space, and being poor are the five commonly recognized factors that make low-level contractors in the Reincarnation Space feel cool, with being poor accounting for the largest proportion.
Benjamin surveyed the entire shopping center in one go and successively eliminated nearly 100 zombies that had not been ordered.
It didn't take long to eliminate these zombies. Each zombie had [Biological Perception], so Benjamin only needed to leisurely walk back and forth in the shopping center to attract groups of zombies.
At this point, the shopping center had become a safe zone, and only internal and external modifications were needed before it could be used as a base camp.
"Goo..."
Benjamin had been busy all day and hadn't drunk a drop of water. Even though his CON had reached 7, he couldn't go without food and drink. He still needed to rest and replenish his energy.
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"Let's talk about the renovations tomorrow. Anyway, the entrances and exits are all sealed off, so no one can get in."
He picked up some canned meat from the shelf next to him and skillfully opened it with the [Bloodrune Longsword]. The sharp blade made a small cut in the can's lid, and an opening was created. Benjamin handed two to Fluffy and then began to tuck in.
He ate with relish, a look of contentment on his face. In the meantime, Benjamin got up again and went to the shelves in other areas to get two bottles of mineral water. The canned oil is a bit too big, and eating too much of it is disgusting. The cool mineral water instantly relieves the greasy feeling in the mouth.
After eating and drinking his fill, Benjamin suddenly remembered that he hadn't fed Fluffy any [Low-level Zombie Essence] from the storage space. He took out all the [Low-level Zombie Essence] and counted it, discovering that there were exactly 60 pieces.
This was Benjamin's entire harvest for the day. Hunting this cannon fodder was the only way to collect this material, and the scattered zombies in the shopping center contributed more than half of it.
"It's a pity about those zombies that were burned to ashes in the pit, and that high-level zombie too."
Thinking about the resources he had missed out on made Benjamin feel a little sad. That was a lot of wealth, and it was a real shame to waste it like that. But there was nothing he could do about it – without that kind of trap, he simply couldn't deal with the massive zombie horde on his own. He shook his head helplessly and sighed inwardly.
Benjamin picked up a piece of Zombie Essence and examined it closely. The piece of meat was the size of a thumb, overall a bright white color, crystal clear, like a piece of jade. Holding it close to his nose, he could also smell a faint, light fragrance.
If he hadn't experienced it himself, he would never have believed that this appetizing piece of meat had been collected from a zombie.
Every ten pieces of [Low-level Zombie Essence] can randomly increase a creature's basic attributes by one point, but Benjamin's basic attributes exceeded the conditions for use in every case, even his lowest attribute, CHR, was 5 points, just above the threshold.
Benjamin stuffed the entire 60 thumb-sized chunks of meat into Fluffy's belly. Fluffy, who had just eaten his fill, was unable to resist and was now lying on his back, exposing his obviously distended belly.
"Ahem, I just thought of it. This is for your own good. After all, you don't want to be a burden forever, do you?"
Seeing the full of resentment in Fluffy's gaze, Benjamin coughed dryly. He would never admit that he was mainly curious about the effect of this thing, which is why he was in such a hurry.
After spending so much time together, Fluffy has gained a comprehensive understanding of this cheap owner. If there is any distinguishing characteristic of his, it must be his intermittent lack of focus.
Since establishing the master-pet relationship with this scoundrel, there has not been a single day when Fluffy has felt safe. Not only is it in a situation where it is used as bait and spare food at any time, but now it has to be used as an experiment as well. It is downright heartless.
Fluffy is bitter, but Fluffy cannot speak.
Come on, think more positively. After all, he has been pretty good to him most of the time, and more importantly, the pet contract cannot be broken.
Bah! Scoundrel!
At this thought, Fluffy couldn't help rolling his eyes at Benjamin, his last act of defiance.
At that moment, Benjamin had no idea that Fluffy was furiously adding drama to the situation in his mind.
In order to see results quickly, he deliberately came over to rub Fluffy's tummy to help with digestion.
"Do all animals like having their tummies rubbed? Cats do, dogs do, and so do you."
Seeing that Fluffy was squinting in comfort, Benjamin became even more curious about what animal genes had been added during Fluffy's cultivation in the genetic laboratory.