“Lucy, I think we should move all of this to our previous room. It's already stained with James's blood, and I don't think disposing of these bodies outside is a good idea,” Lucas suggested as he hauled one unrecognizable corpse into the room.
After nearly an hour of wandering around aimlessly, their time spent seemingly wasted, they decided to at least tidy up a bit. They aimed to make it less overwhelming for the women who would be helping them.
“Okay,” Lucy agreed.
The hallway was growing dimmer as the sun began its descent. In a matter of hours, darkness would fully envelop the surroundings, casting an early nightfall.
‘This is why having a window is so crucial,’ Lucas mused, noticing the light streaming in as he opened the door. He dragged the body into the room, immediately assailed by the putrid stench emanating from James's lifeless form. The corpse was dumped unceremoniously in a corner.
“We're like murderers, aren't we?” he remarked to Lucy as he saw her dragging another body into the room.
Time seemed to crawl for them that day. Just a few days ago, the people here were conversing. The atmosphere, though subdued, was still alive.
After ferrying a few more bodies into the room, Lucas left Lucy to handle things upstairs as he descended.
Upon entering Sarah's room, he found her asleep on the bed, her daughter nestled beside her. The other women sat on the floor, engaged in discussion.
“Would you like to help us?” Lucas inquired, earning curious looks from the women.
“Just follow me; you'll understand soon enough,” he assured, sensing their confusion as they rose to join him.
'I should have asked Lucy to come along. They're quite intimidating,' he mused.
Climbing the stairs, he noticed some of the women hesitating.
“Don't worry, my sister is upstairs. I won't do anything to you,” he reassured them. Though reluctant, they had no other option and begrudgingly ascended.
'Feels like I'm leading a group of ducklings,' he thought with a hint of amusement. Halfway up the stairs, a few of the women froze in place.
“You've seen zombies before; this won't be any different,” Lucas pointed out, indicating the wall that was now adorned with splatters of blood.
“Please wait here for a moment. I'll call Lucy over for you. I don't think I'm the best person to teach you how to handle these situations,” Lucas said to the group of women. As he ascended to the second floor, he disregarded the gruesome sight of bloody corpses in the hallway. Inside one of the rooms, Lucy was dragging another body.
“Lucy, they're here. You can go and teach them. You've been through this recently, so I believe you can help them. I'll take a walk around the hotel just in case,” Lucas informed her.
“Sure thing. I'm actually relieved that you're not the one teaching them,” Lucy replied.
Lucas was left bemused. 'What's wrong with my teaching approach?' Shaking his head, he retraced his steps back to the staircase, with Lucy alongside him after she had left the dead man in the room.
Leaving Lucy to guide the women, Lucas exited the small hotel. Glancing at his phone, he noted the time; 5:04 p.m. 'Just a few more hours until nightfall,' he thought, drawing his jian.
Circling the building, Lucas observed that the hotel's location was strategic. Despite some houses and small stores nearby, it was a defensible position. The sides and the back were enclosed by a tall cement wall, around the height of two adult men. It was surprising how no one found the location suspicious. The clever individual Thomas had mentioned must have played a role in constructing this place. Lucas noticed the absence of vegetation—a lack of trees and bushes, even a swimming pool.
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The morning had been bustling when they arrived, but now, the silence was serene after they eliminated the men.
“Wait, were there any women among the people Lucy took down?” Lucas pondered aloud.
Unsure if Ethan's protective skill still held or not, he didn't spot any zombies around. Had they cleared out all the zombies nearby? He couldn't explore nearby houses. It was possible those residences had already been scavenged for food and cleared of zombies.
Feeling bored, Lucas sighed and pulled out his phone, trying to access the internet, but to no avail. It had been a week, yet there was no sign of military assistance. Having recently witnessed Lucy's strength as she mercilessly slaughtered people, Lucas trusted her capability to defend herself. With that assurance, he walked away from the hotel.
The duo had forgotten about finding a phone store to break into after they left the supermarket and acquired the green orb for Lucy, a decision that still annoyed him. With his phone's battery dwindling, he'd be unable to check the time, the calendar, voice recordings, or even use the camera. In such times, people failed to realize the life-saving utility of phones.
Recalling an instance when he got lost in the forest during a solo camping trip, he was grateful for the compass app that had guided him. Otherwise, he would have had to wait until nightfall to locate the North Star.
Walking down the streets, Lucas noticed that he and Lucy had already explored most of the areas. It was odd that they hadn't come across any phone shops yet. If only there were branches of well-known phone brands here. Unfortunately, in their third-world country, they only had small shops selling imported phones, and breaking into one in the midst of the apocalypse wasn't feasible, especially since he couldn't see through walls.
'I suppose I'll just have to make do for now.' Lucas decided to look around, realizing that the only accessible phone stores were those that hadn't been locked up. But finding such stores was challenging; after all, who would've been open at midnight?
As the sun gradually set and his footsteps echoed, Lucas found himself in an area with a few phone shops. He muttered to himself, “Of course, the outer ring of the city is mostly inhabited by poorer individuals and perhaps even criminals.”
'Well,' he thought, 'I can't really offend them since I live on the outskirts too. I'm not exactly wealthy.' Disappointed with his phone's low battery, he turned back, navigating his way to the hotel using the compass app to avoid getting lost again.
Turning a corner, he was taken aback by a bright red orb that caught his eye. He stared at it, puzzled. 'Is this a skill? But skills are usually green. This is just random.' Looking around, he noted the absence of zombies, birds, or even ants.
'Wait, do ants give experience points when killed?' Shaking off the random thought, Lucas hesitantly extended his hand toward the orb, his excitement overshadowed by caution. 'If this turns out to be fatal, Lucy will have to fight alongside those women.'
As he touched the orb, it glowed even brighter before merging into his skin and body. He felt a sensation akin to being injected with a fluid, a mixture of weirdness and exhilaration. A voice echoed in his mind.
---
[Red Orb Detected!]
[Received Skill: Clawing Fang!]
---
Lucas was rendered speechless. He didn't need to read a description to grasp the nature of this skill. 'What am I, a werewolf? A vampire?'
Walking back to the hotel, his mind churned with thoughts of his new skill. Acquiring a new ability was undoubtedly advantageous, and the temporary claw could aid in combating zombies. But a fang?
'I'm no vampire. What am I supposed to do with this? I don't want to become a zombie either.' Lost in contemplation, he reached the small hotel where Lucy stood at the entrance, ready to speak the moment he came into view.
“Lucas, you promised to keep an eye on us and survey the area, not vanish for nearly an hour.”
Ignoring Lucy's prepared barrage of complaints, Lucas cut in with his own news. “Never mind that. I acquired a skill that lets me grow a fang.”
Lucy's voice was laced with surprise. “What?”
“Yes, exactly. I'm still puzzling over its usefulness since it's so new to me.”
“Well, step inside first. We can discuss it later. I've pretty much made up my mind about whether I'll stay here or join you in exploring the city further, after spending some time with the women.”